TASTING NOTES
A refined Merlot in which black cherry and plum fruit is lifted by savoury- spice notes of cedar and white pepper. The palate offers a delicious blend of freshness and depth.
PRODUCER
Morandé was founded in 1996 by Pablo Morandé, and found immediate recognition both domestically and abroad. Morandé are true pioneers – they were the first family to develop the Casablanca D.O., recognising the fantastic potential of this cool-climate wine region. They also led the way in reviving old viticultural regions such as Maule and Itata, working with old dry-farmed bush vines and unconventional varieties such as Carignan, País and Cinsault. All of the wines are produced with grapes from Morandé’s own vineyards. Their winemaking philosophy is guided by seeking the right terroir for each grape variety, and with significant vineyard holdings they are well placed to achieve this.
VINEYARD
The grapes come from the Belén estate in Casablanca. The soils are clay and granite with poor fertility and the vineyards are double-guyot pruned and planted on hillsides with a north-west orientation at a high density (10,100 plants/ha). Yields are limited to one kilo per vine to ensure the grapes have a concentrated aroma and flavour. Hand-harvesting took place in the third week of April.
WINERY
The grapes were crushed and given 5 days’ cold maceration, then fermented at 23-25°C with another 16 days on skins before going through natural malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged in older French oak barrels for ten months before blending and bottling.