Winemaker Notes
Deep, intense violet in color. The complex, fruity, and ripe nose expresses the characteristics of the year with aromas of black fruits, black pepper, and a bit of leather and blonde tobacco. Great structure and complexity on the palate with tannins that are both chalky (typical of the terroir at La Capilla) and silky and that lend way to a profoundly persistent finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A perfumed carmenere with a racier fruit profile than 2020, but slightly more constrained and linear. Floral and spicy nose with hints of iron and graphite to the fruit. Quite juicy and bright with a medium to full body and polished tannins. Nice firmness but very fine-grained at the same time. Lengthy and fresh. A blend of 84% carmenere and 16% malbec. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 86% Carménère and 14% Malbec, the 2021 El Incidente Carménère presents a beautiful bouquet of floral, spice-driven and vivid dark-fruit aromas, all delivered with a classy, reserved nature. This composure is reflected on the palate, with a soft, refined texture that transitions to a grippy, graphite-tinged finish with a gently staining richness—a lovely mix of contemporary polish and understated elegance.
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Vinous
The 2021 Carménère El Incidente also contains 14% Malbec, sourced from Peralillo in the Colchagua Valley. Aged in French oak barrels and foudres, this garnet with a purple sheen wine unfolds green bell pepper aromas over a layer of plum and blackberry fruits, all set against a cedar-like backdrop. Indulgent, rich and clingy on the palate, it lingers with a moderately concentrated mouthfeel.
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Wine Spectator
A textured version, with loamy accents to the cherry paste and red licorice center, which gains from tense mineral details and fresh acidity that drive the flavors onto the finish around floral hints and well-integrated tannins. Drink now through 2032. 1,224 cases made.
Dark, full-bodied and herbaceous with a spicy kick, Carménère found great success with its move to Chile in the mid-19th century. However, the variety went a bit undercover until 1994 when many plantings previously thought to be Merlot, were profiled as Carménère. Somm Secret— Carménère is both a progeny and a great-grandchild of the similarly flavored Cabernet Franc.
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.