Winemaker Notes
This vintage was torridly hot in much of Chile. However, the 2017 Viñedo Chadwick showed no sign of this, whatsoever. Thanks to the warmer spring, bud-break and flowering occurred earlier than usual. As the season progressed, Francisco Baettig and the team were pleased and surprised by rainfall, which refreshed the vines at just the right time. January was also hot and dry with veraison taking place ahead of average.
Low yields, combined with high temperatures in January and February meant the earliest harvest ever recorded at Viñedo Chadwick. The manual picking of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot grapes began in March. At just 13% ABV, the wine was remarkably fresh, elegant and intense with tannins that caressed the palate making it one of the wine's most complete renditions, according to Eduardo Chadwick.
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The pure fruit and juicy tannins are so succulent and enticing. Full body and soft, silky tannins. Complete. Everything is where it should be. Ripe fruit and tangy acidity provide energy and balance. Love the finish. Precise and fine-grained texture. Cabernet sauvignon with a touch of petit verdot.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2017 was a very low-yielding and warm year, and the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for the 2017 Viñedo Chadwick were harvested earlier than ever, in early March, to avoid excessive ripeness and keep good freshness. This has the classical minty Maipo profile, with more grip, concentration and tannin—polished, fine-grained tannin—than the 2016. It has good weight and combines power with elegance, in a clean and classical style. The oak is nicely integrated, and in 2014 they started using larger 2,500-liter foudres even for the Cabernet Sauvignon; the profile of the wine has changed toward more integration and less presence of the oak aromas and flavors. This is textbook Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon with a small touch of Petit Verdot in an elegant way. Even if I like the style of the 2016 very much, I'll give the edge to this 2017.
Rating:96+ -
Wine Spectator
Pure and powerful, with intense currant, red plum and pomegranate flavors, matched to vibrant acidity. Features concentrated minerality midpalate, leading to a finish filled with raspberry ganache and sandalwood notes, accented by dollops of white pepper. A complex and focused Chilean red. Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2028. 500 cases made.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
The Maipo Valley is Chile’s most famous wine region. Set in the country’s Central Valley, it is warm and quite dry, often necessitating the use of irrigation. Alluvial soils predominate but are supplemented with loam and clay.
The climate in Maipo is best-suited for ripe, full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (the region’s most widely planted grape), Merlot, Syrah and Carmenère, a Bordeaux variety that has found a successful home in Chile.
White wines are also produced with great prosperity, especially near the cooler coast, include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.