A beautiful violet colour, and an impressive nose with aromas of red fruit such as cranberries, raspberries, and cherries, accompanied by light notes of black pepper, caramel, cloves, and violets. On the palate, the flavours echo the nose and offers up plenty of red and black fruit, black pepper, sweet spices, delicate toasted notes, and a bit of cedar along with elegant structure, fine tannins, and plenty of nerve that allude to its excellent potential for ageing in the bottle.
Vineyards: The grapes for this wine were selected from the best lots of Syrah from the Don Maximiano, Max II, and Max V vineyards in the interior of the Valle de Aconcagua. This year 15% of the grapes were included from the Aconcagua Costa property, Manzanar, and 9% from Max VI in the intermediate sector of the valley. Don Maximiano and the Max vineyards has a long, dry season with moderately warm summer days cooled by evening breezes that enter the valley from the Pacific Ocean. The Don Maximiano vineyard is planted at a density of 10,000 plants per hectare. Like the Syrah in Côtes du Rhone, the vines are head trained, which reduces the yield per plant and produces very concentrated wines with good structure. The Max II vineyards were planted in 1992 on hillsides with loam soil of colluvial origin and a northern exposure. The soil composition includes up to 70% stones in some sectors, which lowers the plant vigour and provides excellent drainage. This is extremely favourable for growing Syrah. |
