2021 Viñedo Chadwick, Maipo Valley, Chile
Critics reviews
Maipo Alto was not as cool as Aconcagua in the 2021 growing season, with temperatures closer to historical average with the exception of a cold February, and this clearly falls into the balanced category. Crushed roses, pencil lead, cassis, ink, liquorice, cocoa bean, espresso, infused with sculpted Maipo Cabernet signature. Has structure and depth, with fine grained tannins adding support and expansion but not overpowering. Well-defined and precise, and this lengthens out on the palate, built to last, and will evolve slowly. Winemaker Francisco Baettig. Ageing in 80% new French oak barrels, plus 20% large oak casks.
Drink 2028 – 2042
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, JaneAnson.com
The 2021 Viñedo Chadwick fermented in stainless steel and troncoconic concrete vats, spent some 10 months in barrique, and then part of the wine (some 20%) was sent to the Stockinger foudres. The nose is reminiscent of a super elegant and sleek Bordeaux, pure and clean, less balsamic than in previous years and less herbal. It's perfumed and floral, precise, fresh and elegant, with very fine tannins, and despite the grape, it is more Pomerol than Graves, with 14% alcohol on the label but without any heat at all. It's velvety and luxurious, juicy and tasty, with fine-grained chalky tannins and the elegant stoniness that the best Maipos are capable of. It has structure and power, like the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove. This has to be the finest vintage for Chadwick; the wine made my heart beat faster—it's a wine of emotion. This is also my first 100-point wine from Chile! The final blend contains around 3% Petit Verdot from vines planted in 2005. There are some 10,000 bottles of this, and it was all bottled all at once on January 31, 2023.
Drink 2024-2040
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com
The focus, balance and precision of Viñedo Chadwick 2021 are remarkable, with acidity, brightness and what the French call ‘tension’ at its core. Stylishly wooded in 80% new oak, it combines aromas of graphite, mocha and bay leaf with a palate of black cherry, cassis, orange zest and cranberry, complemented by serious, layered tannins and a lingering, satisfying finish. World-class.
Tim Atkin MW, TimAtkin.com
The 2021 Viñedo Chadwick is a Cabernet Sauvignon with a dash of Petit Verdot (3%) from Puente Alto, Maipo. It was aged for 22 months, 80% in new French oak barrels and 20% in foudres. The mild summer in the area helped to sculpt the vivid, nuanced aromatic profile: crystal clear blackcurrant notes with sour cherry and raspberry layers plus hints of pepper over a faint cigar box bed. Silky and dry in the mouth, the finely tuned Maipo tannins and refreshing acidity from the cool year make for a longlasting, complex wine. A Bordeaux-inspired red that enjoyed the very Bordelaise weather in the region this year.
Drink 2026 – 2041
Joaquín Hidalgo, Vinous.com
About this WINE
Vinedo Chadwick
Maipo
Maipo Valley, the northernmost within Central Valley, is one of Chile's most prominent wine regions. It is located east of San Antonio and Casablanca Valley and north of Rapel Valley, and is nestled between two mountain ranges, the Andes and the Coastal Mountains, with Chile's capital city, Santiago, sitting in the middle.
Maipo is renown for its exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon, ripe, subtle, spicy and complex with its signature, powerful eucalyptus and blackcurrant flavours. It amounts for over 60% of the regions 10,000ha. Merlot, Chardonnay and Carmenere are also important.
Maipo plays host to several major, quality Chilean wine companies, including Almaviva, Concha y Toro, William Fevre, Santa Rita, De Martino
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
Maipo Alto was not as cool as Aconcagua in the 2021 growing season, with temperatures closer to historical average with the exception of a cold February, and this clearly falls into the balanced category. Crushed roses, pencil lead, cassis, ink, liquorice, cocoa bean, espresso, infused with sculpted Maipo Cabernet signature. Has structure and depth, with fine grained tannins adding support and expansion but not overpowering. Well-defined and precise, and this lengthens out on the palate, built to last, and will evolve slowly. Winemaker Francisco Baettig. Ageing in 80% new French oak barrels, plus 20% large oak casks.
Drink 2028 – 2042
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, JaneAnson.com
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