2021 Terranoble - Carmenere CA2 Andes (750ml)

TerraNoble was founded in 1993 in Chile's Maule Valley, expanding a decade later to include vineyard holdings in the Casablanca and Colchagua valleys. The winery built its reputation as a specialist in Carmenère, a variety only formally identified in Chile the year after the company's founding, and has pursued a philosophy centered on expressing distinct terroirs through minimal intervention winemaking. Head winemaker Marcelo García, trained in agronomy and enology in Santiago, leads the CA project, an ongoing exploration into how differently Carmenère expresses itself depending on where it is grown.

This bottling is sourced from vineyards near Los Lingues, at the foot of the Andes within the Colchagua Valley, where granitic soils poor in organic matter push the vines to dig deep for nutrients and water. The CA project deliberately applies the same winemaking approach across its different sites so that any variation in the finished wine can be traced back to where the grapes were grown rather than to differences in the cellar. Grapes are picked at full ripeness to capture the variety's aromatic intensity, then aged in oak to round out the wine's structure.

The wine is intense and lively, with blackberry, tobacco, and dark chocolate notes framed by firm structure. The palate is balanced and dry, carrying good acidity through to a clean finish. It pairs nicely with grilled chorizo, roasted red peppers, or an aged Idiazábal cheese.