Errazuriz - Single Vineyard - Carmenere 2015

Vintage notes

The 2014-2015 season can be considered exceptional from beginning to end. It was a hot and dry season that yielded very ripe grapes in our Aconcagua Alto Vineyards that produced intense, well-structured, and delicious wines. The 2015 harvest was a challenge, and we had to begin picking the grapes 10-20 days earlier than the historic average, depending on the variety, in order to preserve the character of our Aconcagua Alto Vineyards.

Tasting notes

Intense cherry red in colour. The nose displays aromas that evoke pencil lead, fresh-roasted coffee beans, light notes of caramel, cloves, and black pepper, while aromas of figs, dates, and cherries lend even greater appeal. The palate echoes the nose with notes of red bell pepper, figs, dates, and cherries, along with a touch of coffee, chocolate, cloves, and black olives. Smooth and round on the medium-bodied palate with elegant and very friendly tannins

Technical information

composition: 100% Carmenere
alcohol: 14%
ph: 3.56
residual sugar: 2.35 g/L
ageing: 14 months in French oak barrels, 28% new.
total acidity: 5.53 g/L (in tartaric acid)

Vineyard

The grapes that go into the Aconcagua Alto Carmenère come primarily from our Max Vineyards in the interior of the Aconcagua Valley. The soils have a predominately silty texture and are of colluvial origin. The special nutritional and drainage conditions of the diverse soils help control plant vigour and lead to good balance with small clusters and berries.

Winemaking notes

The grapes were hand picked from the last week of April through the first days of May. They underwent a double selection, crushed, and were deposited into stainless steel tanks for fermentation at 24º–28ºC with oxygenated pumpovers to help extract tannins and fix colour. The new wine was racked directly to French oak barrels, 28% new, where malolactic fermentation took place during the 14 months of ageing.

Chile Aconcagua Valley