2013 Viña Koyle, Gran Reserva Carménère, 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.

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.