Pinot Noir D.O. Valle de Leyda
The vintage
A rainy and cold winter gave way to a spring with typical conditions. The start of summer was rather warm, leading to a very rapid development of short-cycle grape varieties such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. After a few heatwaves, the summer began with below-average temperatures. The season ended with a moderate, average autumn. A year we expected to be hot, but which ultimately turned out to be rather balanced.
Location
The vineyard is nestled in Leyda, one of Chile's burgeoning wine regions within the San Antonio Valley. Located to the west of the Coastal Range, the vineyard is positioned 11 km from the Pacific Ocean and 6 km from the Maipo River. Cloudy mornings and the cooling Humboldt Current moderate summer temperatures, keeping them below 24°C. This optimal climate allows for gradual grape maturation, resulting in wines with crisp acidity.
Terroir
The plot is located on a hilltop, characterized by a soil made of a clayey first horizon of fluvial origin and a second horizon of limon-sandy soil of granitic origin. The presence of active calcium carbonate between these horizons imparts a distinctive tension and texture to the wine.
Winemaking
The grapes are hand-harvested and start being processed during the morning. They are placed in open vats after careful sorting and destemming, with 10% kept as whole bunch. The fermentation temperature does not exceed 25°C. No pumping over is performed; extraction is carried out only through gentle manual punch down. Maceration lasts around 15 days. Subsequently, the wine is racked and malolactic fermentation takes place. Once completed, the wine is transferred to cement tanks and 30% goes into first and second-use barrels of 400 and 500 L, specifically toasted for this variety, where it will undergo aging for 12 months.
Grapes
Tasting
Deep ruby colour.
The nose is highly expressive, marked by notes of fresh fruit such as raspberry, plum and sour cherry, along with floral hints of hibiscus. It also shows more classic varietal nuances of undergrowth, as well as oak ageing notes of bay leaf and tobacco.
On the palate, the wine is fresh, with good volume and well-structured tannins, revealing good ageing potential.
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