Odfjell Cauquenes Cabernet Sauvignon 2015  £59.95

Odfjell Cauquenes Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Founded by Norwegian Dan Odfjell this pre-dominantly red wine producer creates wines of elegance and poise.

Odfjell is fully committed to biodynamics with cover crops and beehives populating the vineyards while small Fjord horses work the land. Odfjell produces wonderful wines that few in Chile can match, with their Carignans, which come from rescued 80-year-old vines, proving to be of particular note.

Cauquenes is located in the Maule Valley (36° 08’41’’ S), 175 m above sea level. The soil is deep red clay loam, with high temperatures cooled down by fresh breezes from the Pacific Ocean.

This vintage was characterized by having a much slower maturation than other years, allowing complete development of the components of the grapes and achieving excellent quality. Some spring rains complicated the healthiness of the grapes but were resolved successfully. The potential yield was slightly higher than a normal year, which favoured the balance in the vineyard.

The grapes were handpicked using 800 kg bins and were not crushed on reception to the winery; the clusters were only destemmed. The whole berries had a total maceration of 35 days. Soft pigeage after maceration. Temperature is controlled between 26°-28°C. Spontaneous malolactic fermentation took place in barrels.

Bright ruby-red has a display of pleasant aromas of blueberries and black fruits such as plum, and cherry liqueur is very present. The palate is blackberry jam and chocolate. Its tannins are very intense, persistent and velvety providing a lengthy finish.