Some green pepper notes, classic note in Chilean wines, white pepper, and blackberry fruit aromas, open and expressive. On the palate, there are hints of freshly ground pepper. The fruit is layered and complex, blackberry, black currant, and other dark fruits, as well as a touch of black olive. The wine is juicy and fresh, not too heavy or voluptuous. Tannins are still young and a bit unintegrated without about 30 minutes of air. It has a medium in body with a longer finish.

 

Viña Pérez Cruz is a family-owned winery producing estate-grown blends of red wine. The family acquired the Liguai (“fortune teller” in the local Mapuche language) property in 1963 but didn’t plant vines there until 1994. When the family head died, the children decided to build a winery and produce wines from this sustainably farmed estate. Located about 30 miles southeast of Santiago, the vineyard is nestled against the Andean foothills not far from the Pacific Ocean. Both cool air from the Andes and breezes from the Pacific temper the otherwise hot summer climate, allowing for slow ripening, which in turn produces bright fruit, natural acidity, and soft tannins. The soils are alluvial in the lower part of the vineyard, with round stones and rocks and sandy-clay texture; those at higher elevations are the result of sudden landslides, with sharper stone and rocks and clay-loam texture. The winery makes a major commitment to the local cultural, socio-economic, educational, environmental, and sporting activities of the local community. There are currently 250 hectares of vineyards, the majority of which are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (171 ha).  Other grapes include Carménère, Syrah, Cot (Malbec), Merlot, Petit Verdot, Mourvèdre, and Grenache.

 

Grapes for this wine come from select blocks of 18-22-year-old sustainable vineyards managed for low yields. They are fermented in tank with native yeasts in a gravity-fed winery. The wine ages 14 months in French oak barrels, 50% new and 50% second use.