2016 Viña Koyle, Don Cande, Bularco Muscat, Itata Valley, Chile
Critics reviews
Luis Gutirrez - 28/04/2017
About this WINE
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.
Muscat
Muscat refers to a family of grapes of which there are around 200 different branches. Muscat Blancs à Petits Grains is the most noble of the variety and makes the best and most distinctive wines. It is the only wine grape that produces wines that actually taste of grapes, and can produce a range of wines from pale, bone dry whites, through to golden yellow, rich, sweet wines.
In Alsace, two types of Muscat are grown - Muscat Blancs à Petits Grains and Muscat Ottonel. They are usually blended to produce wines that tend to be light and dry with a fruity, musky character and an intensely aromatic bouquet. Intensely sweet late harvest wines are also produced.
Muscat de Beaumes de Venise is one of the best Vin Doux Naturels in France. This is produced by adding grape spirit to the partly fermented must - the best producers, such as Domaine de Durban, produce deliciously sweet wines with rich grapey aromas balanced by fruity acidity.
In Australia Muscat à Petit Grains is used to produce the fortified Liqueur Muscats of Victoria (esp. Rutherglen). These are extraordinary wines - dark and treacly with a sensational perfume of orange, raisins and honey.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
The third vintage of their first white from Itata, the 2016 Don Cande Muscat from fruit from their nine-hectare vineyard Don Candelario Hinojosa is again produced in a fresh and dry style, with good acidity and marked varietal aromas. There is a 36-hour maceration of the skins, and then the must is put to ferment with indigenous yeasts, mostly in stainless steel, but some 15% of the volume was put, with full clusters, in rolling used 600-liter oak barrels (in an orange wine way) where it also matured for two months in contact with the lees. Twenty percent of the wine was moved to egg-shaped concrete vats for the two months of élevage. The "orange" part provides great volume in the palate, and at the same time they have managed to avoid both the excessive aromas and the very strong bitterness it can get. This is fresh, with low alcohol, easy to drink and very appropriate for food. 5,500 bottles were filled in June 2016.
Luis Gutiérrez - 28/04/2017
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee