Primus Tesis Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

This Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Apalta, in the Colchagua Valley, one of Chile's most renowned terroirs. It comes from plot C6, planted with ancestral ungrafted vines located in the lower part of the estate, where deep-rooted vines require minimal intervention. The vineyard is farmed using regenerative organic and biodynamic methods, in order to express the identity of the site as faithfully as possible.

The 2023 harvest began at the end of March: the grapes are picked by hand in the early hours of the day, then sorted as bunches and as berries on a double sorting table. Vinification takes place in open vats, with a five-day maceration at 12 °C before fermentation with natural yeasts. After running off and 36 hours of settling, malolactic fermentation and 14 months of ageing take place in French oak barrels.

This wine reveals notes of strawberry, raspberry, cherry, blackcurrant, violet, black pepper, cinnamon and cedar. Crunchy red fruit opens the bouquet, followed by the floral and spicy notes typical of Apalta. The palate offers good acidity, volume and round, robust tannins, through to a long, persistent 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.