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 A quirk between the Andes and Maipo

In the foothills of the Andes in Chile, south-east of Santiago along the Maipo River, there is a region known as Palo Alto. There, the whim of geography has produced a climate with long dry seasons and rainfall concentrated mainly in winter. The soil in this area is alluvial and stony; allowing for an excellent drainage. All these qualities resulted in an appropriate territory for an exceptional growth of the vine.

It is in this region that the Chadwick Vineyard is located.  The winery was founded in 1942, it occupies 300 acres devoted to the cultivation of grapes designed to the production of high quality red wine. In 1967 the Chadwick family sold part of the land to the company Concha y Toro retaining only 25 acres as a home.

It was not until the spring of 1992 that the grape was produced again with the best Cabernet Sauvignon vines from the Maipo and Aconcagua Valley in addition to a selection of strains such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

Since then Chadwick’s wines reputation has been on the raise. The wine Vineyard Chadwick participated in a tasting in New York where around 100 professional tasters from around  the world participated using  the same procedure used for the famous “Judgment of Paris” and the final score placed it among the top 10.

 

 

Chadwick Vineyard

This is a wine that frees fruity fragrances at still glass.

The popularity of the 2007 harvest from Chadwick Vineyard has been there for long time. Since its appearance critics have submitted the wine to various successful tests. The International Wine Cellar and Wine Spectator gave the Chadwick 2007 harvest a score of 93, while The Wine Advocate gave it the magnificent score of 97 points.

With this background, it is understandable the innate human feeling of satisfying our curiosity, by uncorking a bottle to taste it personally and confirm the rumors.

The wine offers to the visual sense an intense ruby color with very discreet violet hues. In a still glass, it frees fruit fragrances as black cherries and raspberries, a marked acidity can also be perceived, although it does not overpower the fruit presence. Gently shake the glass and other secrets are revealed; such as fragrances of aromatic woods such as cedar, snuff, coffee, cassis and sweet spices.

By then, our taste will crave to test the famous features that made this crop so popular. At first contact, one can perceive the presence of fine ripe tannins, and time will confirm its persistence.

During the rest of the tastings of 2007 Chadwick Vineyard will unveil its mysteries slowly and confirm its status as one of Chile’s most important crops in recent years.

 

Chadwick Vineyard 2007

Strain: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin: Valle del Maipo / Maipo Valley, Chile

Alcohol: 14% / vol

pH: 3.50

Acidity: 5.93 g/l (Tartar acid)

Residual sugar: 2.6 g/l

Text:  Efren Belmont ± Photo: Viña Errazuriz