Description

ABOUT THE PRODUCER:
Undurraga is one of Chile’s most prestigious wineries, consistently receiving high scores from top wine critics. Founded in 1885, Undurraga owns 1,350 hectares of estate vineyard in Chile’s premium wine-producing areas, such as Leyda, Cauquenes and Itata and is certified by Sustainable Wines of Chile. Head winemaker Rafael Urrejola has spent a great deal of time researching and understanding the diversity of Chile’s vineyard sites; the result is the emblematic ‘Terroir Hunter’ range. Undurraga cultivates their vineyards with respect for the environment and follow a philosophy of minimal intervention in the cellar to showcase the terroir. In 2023, Rafael became the first Chilean winemaker to be awarded ‘Red Winemaker of the Year 2023′ by the prestigious International Wine Challenge (IWC).

ABOUT THE VINEYARD:
The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from vines planted in the early 1990s, in Pirque, in Alto Maipo. The Pirque vineyard contains soils of alluvial origin, which are medium-textured with a high level of stone content. The soil is medium to low fertility, good depth of 1.5 to 2 metres and good drainage; ideal conditions to produce characterful wines. The Carménère grapes come from an estate vineyard in the Colchagua Valley planted in the mid-1980s. The clay loam soil textures are dominant, which is ideal for this variety, as they retain soil moisture during the lengthy period this variety takes to ripen. The Carignan grapes come from a dry-farmed vineyard planted in 1958 in the Maule Valley. It contains soils with a clay texture, high quartz content, subsoil of granitic origin and good drainage.

THE WINEMAKING PROCESS:
The grapes were hand-harvested and manually selected, first by cluster, then by berry, to ensure only the ripe, healthy fruit was vinified. The grapes were gravity-fed into small stainless-steel tanks of 10,000 litres for cold maceration for six to eight days before fermentation with selected yeasts at 27-28°C. The wine was made without any additions, and following fermentation, it spent 32 to 35 days in the tank, with post-fermentation maceration of 15 days. Ageing took place in 225-litre French oak barrels, of which 30% were new and 70% second use, for 16 months, with a further 24 months bottle ageing before release.

OUR TASTING NOTE:
An exceptional wine revealing expressive aromatic layers, balanced concentration and wonderful complexity. Deep red fruits and blackberries are layered with cedar, tobacco, graphite and dark chocolate overtones. The structured palate shows depth of flavour and integrated tannins, through to an everlasting finish.

GRAPE VARIETY:
Cabernet Sauvignon 91%, Carignan 6%, Carmenère 3%.