El Grano Carmenere 2019

El Grano Carmenere, full bodied, peppery Chilean red. The El Grano Carmenere is made from grapes grown at 450m. The vines are ploughed, no weedkillers are required, and because of the exceptional climate, no chemicals are needed either. The juice is fermented at about 30C in stainless steel and sees no oak. The nose expresses greenery in abundance: capsicum, green bean and mint pea, but there is plenty of red fruit, bitter chocolate and a lovely length on the palate.

Denis Duveau started out as a consultant oenologue from the Loire valley in France, before moving to Chile to create terroir-driven wines in the New World.

Alongside his colleague, who already recided in Chile, he discovered a location in the Rapel Valley, 100 km south of the capital, which was perfect for making the sort of wines he was aiming to produce. They planted it with Carmenere, which was formerly a speciality of Bordeaux, but which thrives in Chile, and would be ideal on the lime and clay soils with glacial deposits that they had acquired. With a warm climate but cool nights, this allowed them to produce high quality, balanced red wines. Whilst they are not a natural winery, chemicals are rarely needed at due to the excellent climate conditions, and regular ploughing helps keep weeds at bay.