From the Colchagua Valley in Chile we have a Laura Hartwig Single Vineyard Carménère. In 1966 Laura Bisquertt inherited the “Santa Laura Estate” from Osvaldo her father who had planted traditional crops and raised dairy livestock on it. Laura’s husband Alejandro Hartwig bought adjoining plots of land and planting of traditional Bordeaux grapes commenced in 1978 selling grapes and then establishing the Hartwig Winery in 1994 and in 1995 they produced their first Laura Hartwig wine.
The Colchagua Valley was traditional farmland country until the last 15 years when it started evolving into one of Chile’s largest and most active wine-producing regions. The relatively low elevation of the coastal hills allows the Pacific Ocean breezes to interplay with the Andean winds, cooling the valley and extending the region’s ripening period. Most wine here is red.
Aroma: Raspberry, black cherry with a bit of milk chocolate.
Palate: Moderate tannins with the raspberry dominating. Medium bodied and firm with a slow longish finish. Make me walk the plank on this but so much Chilean Carménère is analogous to a Pinot Noir on steroids or a Pete Rose Pinot Noir for you baseball fans. It is that raspberry in Carménères that cause me to make this outrageous comparison!
Personality: Don’t be thrown by my raspberrish soul. I am not a Pinot Noir. I am not elegant but I am far from a clumsy oaf. I am serious and full bodied and best suited for food. I suppose there is no need for me to say I am a wine of exceptional quality and value.
Food match: Mushroom Stroganoff! Beef Stroganoff for meatheads.
Cellarbility: No need to wait so enjoy now. It will benefit from 2-3 years of ageing.
Price: $15.95 (Ontario).
RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 92/100. Jamessuckling.com 91.
(Laura Hartwig 2020 Single Vineyard Carménère, D.O. Colchagua Valley, Chile, Comercial Santa Laura, Santa Cruz, Chile, 750 mL, 13.5%, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 213512).
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