About this WINE
Vina Tamaya
Tamaya, a word from the ancient indigenous Diaguita language, means ‘high lookout' ; a reference to the location of the winery which overlooks the Limari Valley, 400 Km to the north of Santiago and only 20 km from the Pacific Ocean. Great natural phenomena seem to converge here with not only the ocean, but also the arid Atacama Desert and the Andes Mountains all close by. The vineyards are deprived of rainfall in spring and summer, a problem addressed by a series of reservoirs, canals and pipelines bringing water down from the mountains.
This is region famed for the clarity of its skies and the purity of its air; this natural benevolence has been harnessed by Head Winemaker Jose Pablo Martin and is captured in the wines, which are virtually free from chemical or other forms of intervention.
The vines are mainly grown on poor clay and granite ; there are over 250 hectares in total ; the whites being Chardonnay Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc and the reds Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenère, Syrah and Sangiovese.
The Limari Valley is seen as the most exciting and innovative in Chile and Tamaya as its leading winery.
Carménère
Chile is the bastion of the Carménère grape today but during the early19th century it was one of the most widely cultivated grape varieties in the Médoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux where it was a valued blending partner of Cabernet Franc. However its susceptibility to the twin evils of phylloxera and oidium led to growers uprooting it in the 1860s and replacing it with better yielding grape varieties such as Merlot.
It was first introduced in Chile (where it is also known as Grand Vidure) in the 19th century where it thrived on the country’s phylloxera-free vineyards, as most of its vines are planted on native rootstock. For a long time it stayed in obscurity, as it was mixed with Merlot plantings in the vineyards but now is being identified, vinified and labelled separately.
In Chile it accounts nowadays for about 8,000 hectares or 8 percent of the national vineyard and it is typically blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, imparting succulent and luxurious fuitness. Many of the country’s flagship wines, such as these from Almaviva, Neyen, and Seña, incorporate judicious proportions of Carménère in blends. It is increasingly being bottled as a single varietal wine. Carmen and De Martino were two of the first wineries to champion the grape as the signature varietal of Chile.
Carménère wines are deeply coloured and are usually well structured with smooth, well-rounded tannins, and ripe berry fruit flavours. Cooler climate regions, like the coastal Limari in Chile, produce an earthy, leaner, more elegant style with crunchy red fruit and green pepper flavours. Warmer climates, like in Maipo, give concentrated, heady wines, inky-coloured and with opulent notes of dark chocolate, soy sauce and black pepper.
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Description
Tamaya, a word from the ancient indigenous Diaguito language, means ‘high lookout ; a reference to the location of the winery which overlooks the Limari Valley, 400 Km to the north of Santiago and only 20 km from the Pacific Ocean. Great natural phenomena seem to converge here with not only the ocean, but also the arid Atacama Desert and the Andes Mountains all close by. The vineyards are deprived of rainfall in spring and summer, a problem addressed by a series of reservoirs, canals and pipelines bringing water down from the mountains.
This is region fames for the clarity of its skies and the purity of its air; this natural benevolence has been harnessed by Head Winemaker Jose Pablo Martin and is captured in the wines, which are virtually free from chemical or other forms of intervention. The vines are mainly grown on poor clay and granite ; The Limari Valley is seen as the most exciting and innovative in Chile and Tamaya as its leading winery.
The Carmenère has been aged half in tank, and half in barrels of differing ages. A deep and typically intense purple colour introduces a powerful and spicy nose of red peppers, blackberries and plums, backed by gentle hints of toasty oak. Concentrated and juicy, the mouth combines blue and blackberry fruit with gentle savoury undertow. The tannins are finely structured and afford satisfying spicy complexity to the finish.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)
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