2015 Viñedo Chadwick

The 2015 Viñedo Chadwick is a pure Cabernet Sauvignon from a textbook year in Puente Alto, with several peaks in temperature and a slow-ripening end to the season. The wine aged for 22 months in French barrels and 15% in foudres . It is garnet red with a ruby sheen in the glass. The nose is herbal and intense with precise red fruit flavors of sour cherry, blackcurrant and hints of blueberry, all framed by the oak. In the mouth, it is medium bodied with an ethereal flow and well-defined flavor channeled by the refined tannins. The precision and energy go up a notch toward the end, leading in to the lengthy finish.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon. TA 5.99 g/l, pH 3.5, RS 2.46 g/l. One of the driest winters on record, early budbreak followed by a moderate spring. Picked a little earlier on 23 March. The grapes were hand harvested and sorted by hand. Stainless-steel fermentation, three pumpovers per day. Total maceration time ranged from 23–40 days. Aged for 22 months in French oak barrels (73% new) and 15% in foudres. Interesting tension and drive on the nose. Lots of freshness but very youthful – almost naked fruit. For the moment a bit angular but certainly a new direction and will need a little more time to prove itself I think. But there is certainly complexity here. (JR)

Based on 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Vinedo Chadwick Vineyard, aged 22 months in 73% new French oak (15% was in foudre), the 2015 Vinedo Chadwick is an incredible effort that has both elegance and richness. Notes of crème de cassis, graphite, wet stone-like minerality, and plenty of leafy herb characteristics all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, seamless, gorgeously polished red. It’s already drinking nicely yet should cruise in the cellar for 10-15 years.