Viña Errazuriz Estate Carmenere

In 1870, after travelling 100 km and two horseback rides, Maximiano Errázuriz found the perfect place to plant vineyards in the Aconcagua Valley (90 km from Santiago de Chile). While most Chilean winegrowers did not dare cultivate beyond the capital, Maximiano decided to try his luck and plant French varieties like Carmenere on these volcanic soils. And his intuition paid off! See for yourself with a bottle of Viña Errazuriz Estate Carmenere, a single-variety red wine made from the best clusters of this variety.

Now, a century later, these first three hectares have expanded to 1,000 hectares spread throughout the Aconcagua Valley, between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. In this little corner, where a mild, temperate Mediterranean climate prevails (with rainy winters and long, dry summers), the proximity to the Pacific Ocean is very influential, as the air currents from the coast help cool the clusters during long hot periods. The same happens in the Andes Mountains, when cold air masses descend from the summit, which help to create a great temperature contrast between day and night. Thanks to this, the anthocyanins (which is the polyphenol responsible for giving colour to the red grape) are correctly deposited, giving the wine a spectacular colour.

The Carmenere variety originated in France, but is now mainly found in Chile. At the beginning, this grape, named as such because of the carmine colour it takes on when ripening, was one of the most cultivated in France (especially in Bordeaux); however, at the end of the 19th century, when phylloxera hit, a large number of vines were lost. Despite great efforts, this variety did not take root in the same way, and was even considered lost. However, on the other side of the Atlantic, where many winegrowers were trying to make wine imitating French wines, this variety found a new home, becoming one of Chile’s most representative grapes.

Viña Errazuriz Estate Carmenere is harvested by hand very early in the morning to ensure that the grapes are preserved in the best possible condition. In the winery, Viña Errazuriz Estate Carmenere is destemmed and pressed before being transferred to stainless steel tanks for fermentation. This operation, where the Viña Errazuriz Estate Carmenere must is transformed into wine, is followed by maceration (between 10 and 25 days), which will vary depending on how each batch evolves. Finally, Viña Errazuriz Estate Carmenere spends almost half a year in oak barrels, allowing the tannins to round out. Long live Chilean wine!