2013 Viña Koyle, Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Colchagua Valley, Chile

Vina Koyle

Viña Koyle was founded in 2006 by Alfonso Undurraga Mackenna, former CEO of Viñas Undurraga,  and his three sons and daughter at Los Lingues in the high Colchagua valley. This 60 hectare wine property has espoused organic and biodynamic principles from its inception.
 
Benefiting from five differing soils of volcanic origin, the property has taken great care to optimise the grape variety to soil type and vineyard microclimate.  The wines are all fermented without excessive extraction to allow the fruit to be expressive and the oak regime is designed to complement rather than overwhelm the nose and palate.

Colchagua Valley

The Colchagua Valley is one of Chile’s most renowned wine regions for producing high-quality red wines. The winemaking is deeply rooted in tradition and innovation, making it a dynamic and exciting region for wine enthusiasts.

The Mediterranean climate has warm, dry summers and cooling influences from the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. This climate and well-drained soils provide excellent conditions for growing grape varieties, with a particular focus on red grapes.

The valley is famous for its red Bordeaux varietals, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carménère. These grapes thrive in the region’s terroir and result in wines with rich flavours, ripe fruit characteristics, and well-integrated tannins. Carménère, in particular, has found a unique home in Colchagua Valley, as it was rediscovered here after being thought extinct for a long time.

Colchagua Valley Winemakers follow traditional and modern winemaking techniques. Many vineyards are hand-harvested to ensure the selection of only the best grapes. Using stainless steel tanks and oak barrels for ageing allows winemakers to craft wines with complexity and balance.

The region’s wineries range from small family-owned estates to large and well-known producers. Each winery strives to showcase the unique terroir of Colchagua Valley in its wines, resulting in a diverse range of styles and expressions.

Cabernet Sauvignon

The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.

It is adaptable to a wide range of soils, although it performs particularly well on well-drained, low-fertile soils. It has small, dusty, black-blue berries with thick skins that produce deeply coloured, full-bodied wines with notable tannins. Its spiritual home is the Médoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux where it thrives on the well-drained gravel-rich soils producing tannic wines with piercing blackcurrant fruits that develop complex cedarwood and cigar box nuances when fully mature.

The grape is widely planted in California where Cabernet Sauvignon based wines are distinguished by their rich mixture of cassis, mint, eucalyptus and vanilla oak. It is planted across Australia and with particular success in Coonawarra where it is suited to the famed Terra Rossa soil. In Italy barrique aged Cabernet Sauvignon is a key component in Super Tuscans such as Tignanello and Sassicaia, either on its own or as part of a blend with Sangiovese.