2011 KAI Carmenere

The 2011 Kai is named for a word in the Mapuche language meaning -plant,- as the winery wanted to show the original varietal from Chile. This is a premium Carmenere with 5% Petit Verdot from their oldest vineyards (planted 1994) in Aconcagua. (I wonder why it took so long to realize that the leaves of Carmenere turn red, so they are completely different to Merlot.) In 2011, it was harvested very late, end of April and May, searching for a slow maturation, as the idea is to keep the Carmenere character without becoming too green. The wine aged in French oak (90%) for 22 months. A beautiful bright ruby, it offers a clean nose of ripe red fruits, figs, some balsamic notes, sensual herbaceous hints, slightly roasted tobacco and smoky notes. It has low-ish acidity and feels round, with no edges. Together with some floral flavors, and silky tannins, it is highly drinkable. 700 cases of this superb Carmenere were produced. Drink 2015-2020. Errazuriz is one of the leading producers from Chile. I first spent a morning in Madrid tasting while talking with owner Eduardo Chadwick and winemaker Francisco Baettig and later visited them in their impressive estate in Aconcagua. They have a large portfolio and also own Arboleda, Caliterra and Sena. There is a clear welcome shift toward more freshness and less wood in their wines. Francisco, who everyone knows as -Pancho,- clearly favors 2013, a very cold and higher acidity vintage, against the warm 2012. (2011 was also cold and 2009 was very warm.) He refers to the availability of better vegetal material in Chile when discussing improvements in the wines. The winery is located in the heart of the Aconcagua Valley, which is warmer and produces wines with lower acidity than Aconcagua Costa, the coastal part of the appellation, 10 to 12 kilometers from the ocean on schist soils where they also have vineyards. In the last few vintages, the focus has been on finesse, harvesting early, looking for a balance between ripeness and acidity and working everything - in all their wineries - by gravity. I loved the freshness of the new Aconcagua Costa wines and the balance and restraint of the Aconcagua reds. These notes compile different tastings and have the background of plenty of vertical tastings of the same label, which provided great context. The Max Reserva range is the higher volume line, from their 700 hectares of vineyards in Aconcagua (they own a grand total of 1,100 hectares!) that are hand-harvested in small boxes. The wines are aged for one year before bottling. The old family property on Maipo was replanted to vineyards in the spring of 1992. Chadwick chose an array of the best field selections of Cabernet Sauvignon (12 hectares), Cabernet Franc (1.30 hectares), Merlot; (1.45 hectares) and Petit Verdot (1.50 hectares). The selection of vine material included the best Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo and from the Don Maximiano Estate in the Aconcagua Valley. This 15-hectare vineyard is planted in one of the best sections of the Maipo Valley. The Antumapu soils are especially suited for growing red varieties of exceptional quality. These soils have a shallow strata of clay loam over a stone-filled riverbed of alluvial origin. Imported by Vintus Wines, Pleasantville, NY; www.vintuswines.com