2012 Loma Larga Lomas del Valle Cabernet Franc, Casablanca Valley

Loma Larga Vineyards

Loma Larga is owned by the Díaz family, whose interest in wine was noted in the Paris wine exhibition of 1889. Don Manuel Joaquín Díaz Escudero Alvarez de Toledo, grandfather of the current owners of Loma Larga, personally brought French vines to Chile from his successive tours of Paris and Bordeaux. These were originally planted in his estate in the heart of Santiago.

With the intention of keeping this wine tradition alive, the family studied the climate and soil of their Casablancan estate, Loma Larga and, firmly believing in its terroir potential, began planting vines in 1999. They are now recognised as one of the best producers of cool climate red wines in Chile. Loma Larga means ‘long hill’, a reference to the raised vineyard site which benefits from the cooling influence of the wind.

The Lomas del Valle range is also made from estate-grown fruit and offers a brighter, more youthful interpretation of the producer’s house style.

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is widely planted in Bordeaux and is the most important black grape grown in the Loire. In the Médoc it may constitute up to 15% of a typical vineyard - it is always blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and is used to add bouquet and complexity to the wines. It is more widely used in St.Emilion where it adapts well to the cooler and moister clay soils - Cheval Blanc is the most famous Cabernet Franc wine in the world, with the final blend consisting of up to 65% of the grape.

Cabernet Franc thrives in the Loire where the cooler growing conditions serve to accentuate the grape's herbaceous, grassy, lead pencil aromas. The best wines come from the tuffeaux limestone slopes of Chinon and Bourgeil where growers such as Jacky Blot produce intense well-structured wines that possess excellent cellaring potential.