Winemaker Notes
#35 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2025
An expressive blend that showcases the diversity of their unique estate. In this vintage, the Carmenere serves as the foundation, delivering density and silkiness, while the Cabernet Sauvignon provides structure. This is perfectly complemented by the black fruit and spice notes of the Syrah, The Cabernet Franc adds elegance and persistence, culminating in a soft and complex finish from the Petit Verdot.
Pair with grilled meats or Gorgonzola cheese.
Blend: 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Syrah, 10% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot, 7% Carmenere, 5% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A ripe nose of quince, hazelnut chocolate, roasted red peppers and creme de cassis. Chewy tannins frame the tight, medium-bodied palate. Pretty long, firm and juicy in the finish. Carmenere, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot and cabernet franc. From organically grown grapes with Ecocert certification. Vegan. Sustainable. Better after 2026.
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Wine Spectator
Fans of savory styles will enjoy this red, with a bay leaf and olive cast to the plum and cherry pit core. Generous, fresh acidity moves things along, picking up herb and loam accents on the finish around structured tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Carmenère and Cabernet Franc.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
Well-regarded for intense and exceptionally high quality red wines, the Colchagua Valley is situated in the southern part of Chile’s Rapel Valley, with many of the best vineyards lying in the foothills of the Coastal Range.
Heavy French investment and cutting-edge technology in both the vineyard and the winery has been a boon to the local viticultural industry, which already laid claim to ancient vines and a textbook Mediterranean climate.
The warm, dry growing season in the Colchagua Valley favors robust reds made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Malbec and Syrah—in fact, some of Chile’s very best are made here. A small amount of good white wine is produced from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.