TIERRA ALTA MERLOT

Tasting notes:

Plum, blackcurrant and cranberry aromas burst from the glass. The palate is juicy and fresh with soft red fruits and a hint of green pepper. A really easy drinking Merlot.  

About the wine:

For the Merlot, Boutinot work with two families in two different locations for a blend with huge appeal. The first is the Martin Family who are nestled into the Andes Mountains in a western corner of Curico. Their vineyards sit around 500 metres above sea level (masl), a far higher altitude than the majority of Curico’s main valley which lies around 250masl. Vines are between 40 and 60 years old and part of a 45ha estate where peaches and apples are also grown. The vines are unirrigated and the vineyard is cool with a unique rocky mountain soil and glacial streams. At this elevated height and proximity to the mountains, Merlot enjoys a long growing season with cool evening temperatures. This produces a lovely crunchy plummy fruit character which gives the backbone to this wine. This is blended with grapes from the El Milagro Estate in the centre of the Curico valley. The warm temperature and fertile soils allows Merlot to flourish here. Grapes are harvested during the coolest part of the day to ensure they reach the winery in prime condition. Temperatures are kept fairly low throughout the winemaking process, to allow the grapes to express their natural fruit characters. No oak is used. The resulting wine is fuller with more body and softer tannins and works really well with the higher altitude component. The biggest strength of this blend is the ability to balance out warmer and cooler vintages with these two different profiles.  

About the producer:

The Boutinot winemaking team have been building relationships across Chile over the past two decades, sourcing fruit and wine from across the Central Valleys. They work with a number of small family growers who pay particular attention to quality and ensure that our winemaking team has the best possible fruit to work with. Freshness and purity are the preferred hallmarks of Boutinot's Chilean wines. Each vintage Boutinot winemaker Guillaume Letang travels the vineyards of our grower partners, blending that year's truest expression's of Chile's unique terroirs.  

Food match:

Savoury sausage casseroles or vegetable based pasta dishes.

This wine is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.