Source: jamessuckling.com. Issue Date: March 16, 2018 (JS-91)

Spicy red berries, darker plums and hot stones. So fresh and clear on the palate with juicy tannins, wonderful acidity and a fruity yet mineral finish. Drink now.

Source: Winemaker

Region Rapel Valley

Grape 86% Merlot, 12% Syrah and 2% Petit Verdot

Tasting

Color: Clean burgundy color with cherry hues.

Nose: Expressive nose of red and black fruit such as blackberryalong with fresh aromas such as thym and black pepper.

Palate: Medium body with a good fruit expression. Good balance among components.

Service and Food Pairing: Serve at 15C (59F). The ideal companion for pastas with red sauces, or paprika stuffed with quinoa and tomatoes, or a pizza with mushrooms and pepperoni.

Harvest

Winter 2014 was considered as rainy in Apalta. Spring 2014 had moderate temperatures allowing good bud break and blooming, been both very homogeneous. Summer was more temperate than usual, with some heat waves that lasted for 5 consecutive days in January. This season Colchagua registered the higher growing degree days? sum of the last three periods, due mainly to the high temperatures registered towards the end of summer, made of March the warmest of the last decades. However, grapes showed excellent quality when picked with a good aromatic expression and good tannic structure.

Vinification

The grapes were carefully harvested and transported to the winery. We obtained clean and pure fruit with strict quality control thanks to the state of the art technology, our Vistalys optical berries selection. Then all the grapes were macerated up to 4 weeks to extract structure and color. During maceration, the fermentation lasted about 2 weeks in 100% stainless steel tanks, at 24-28?C. After maceration 55% of the wine was aged in French oak barrels for 5 months to give an extra layer of complexity while keeping the fruit expression. The remaining 45% was aged in stainless steel tanks; The result is great fruit with a fresh and pleasant palate. The wine was slightly filtered and clarified before the bottling.