Santa Rita Floresta Carménère 2022

This cuvée comes from Apalta, an amphitheatre of hills located in the Colchagua Valley, in the heart of Chile's Central Valley. The dry-farmed vines were planted more than 80 years ago on poor, free-draining granite soils. Protected by the surrounding hills, the area enjoys a sunny Mediterranean climate, with nights cooled by air coming down from the mountains, ideal for a ripe, balanced Carménère.

A pioneer of a fresher, juicier style of the grape variety, this cuvée is vinified and aged solely in concrete tanks, without any oak. This choice preserves the pure expression of the fruit and the tension of the wine, while softening its texture over the months of ageing.

This wine reveals notes of blackberry, blackcurrant, plum, violet, red pepper, tomato leaf, black pepper and graphite. Floral and marked by well-defined herbaceous notes, the bouquet rests on tangy black fruit. The palate, with a firm but never aggressive texture, is juicy and fresh, with a spicy, clean finish.

It was Hernán Cortés who ordered the cultivation of vines upon the conquest of Mexico in 1524. It gradually spread from Mexico southward, reaching Chile in 1555. During the first three centuries of colonization, only país, a characterless and very productive black grape variety, was cultivated in Chile. It was not until the mid-19th century that noble varieties were introduced: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, mainly. Twenty years later, winemaking was modernized under the impetus of wealthy landowners and French experts who had been forced out of work by phylloxera in Europe. Chile stretches 4,300 kilometers from north to south. It is sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Andes Mountains to the east, the Atacama Desert to the north, and the Patagonian plains and glaciers to the south. These natural barriers prevented phylloxera from entering the country. Although the country is only 160 kilometers wide, it enjoys ideal conditions for growing grape varieties from warm, intermediate, and cool regions, so much so that it is often described as a vineyard paradise. With nearly 300 estates producing bottled wines, Chile ranks between 6th and 8th in the world.