Leoni Torres Gran Reserva Merlot

Vineyards and Terroir:

The grapes come from our vineyards located in Villa Alegre, 285 km south of Santiago, in Maule Valley. This place has a Mediterranean-like climate, where the winter rains are normal and the summers are dry, with marked range of temperatures between day and night. This allows the grapes to get ripe tannins, as well as excellent aromas and color concentration. Soils are a combination of sand and volcanic ash, and the flat terrain gets and superb sunlight exposition.

Vinification:

The Merlot grapes were harvested at the end of April. To extract color and aromas the must has skin contact at low temperatures prior to alcoholic fermentation during five days. The must is then fermented in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts at temperatures ranging between 26° to 28°C during a ten-day period. Then the wine rests for twenty additional days to extract tannins and then placed in oak barrels eighteen months, 80% French oak and 20% American oak. The wine is bottled without filtering to maintain its extraordinary qualities.

Notes from the winemaker:

This is an intense, complex wine with aromas and flavors of black cherries, blueberries, hazelnut, vanilla, leather and toasted. In the palate it has a very good structure, with mature tannins, fresh black fruit, and a smoky, spicy character. Ideal to accompany turkey with spicy sauce, spicy stews, and pasta with Bolognese sauce.

Variety: Merlot

Appellation: Maule Valley

Winemaker: Claudio Gonçalves Rey

Bottling: Estate Bottled

Vintage: 2016

Serving Temperature: Between 16° - 18°C

13.5% ABV

750 ML