Vinedo Chadwick, Viña Errazuriz 2019

Subtle and very beautiful with currants, tarragon, basil and rose petals in the aromas. It’s full-bodied, yet agile and so fine-textured with superb tannins that provide multi-layers on the palate. It’s refined, yet powerful at the end. Suggests greatness and longevity. Lots of blackcurrants, stones and violets in the after taste. Cabernet sauvignon with a touch of petit verdot. This needs three or four years to show its true greatness.

The 2019 Viñedo Chadwick is a classical Cabernet Sauvignon from Puente Alto, one of the best zones within Maipo. It's from a moderately warm vintage that delivered a wine with only 13% alcohol and good freshness. It contains some 3% Petit Verdot. The vines were planted in 1992, and its gapes fermented in equal parts in stainless steel and concrete or troncoconic vats. Three-fourths of the wine matured in new barriques and the rest in Stockinger foudres for 22 months, including time for the malolactic fermentation. I was truly impressed by this vintage, especially because of its elegance and freshness. There are showy aromas reminiscent of tangerine and flowers, ripe red berries (rather than black) and a spicy twist from the oak but nothing herbal or balsamic that one could expect given the moderate ripeness. The grapes were picked very early, and the wine follows the path of the 2016, the coolest vintage so far, with juicy fruit, elegance and great tension. This feels exceptional and transcends the style of the year. 10,000 bottles produced. It was bottled the 25th of January 2021.

Plenty of Cabernet signature, with chewy tannins and a firm frame, mint leaf, eucalyptus, dark chocolate, fairly closed in on the finish with a touch of resistance from the tannins. Needs time, and on this tasting the tannins are stubborn, but knowing the track record of this wine, I am extremely confident it will reveal further nuances over the next few years, so this is conservatively scored. There is juice on the finish, along with a hint of rosebud and hawthorn brambles. Located at 650m from the Puente Alto DO of Chile’s Maipo Valley. 80% new French oak, 20% Stockinger oak casks.