Santa Carolina Carmenere Reserva de la Familia

Over 140 years ago, Viña Santa Carolina's founder Luis Pereira decided to reserve the best wines in his cellar for his family to enjoy exclusively. A century later, the tradition is maintained and Reserva de Familia has become Santa Carolina's flagship.

Reserva de Familia Carmenere is produced in the Rapel Valley and offers great fruit concentration after 14 months of barrel aging.

The largest of the fine wine areas of Chile, the Rapel valley features a wide range of climatic conditions and soil types. It runs east to west, being the Cachapoal River, its constant geographical feature. Wines from these appellations have fruit from two areas: Los Lingues, closer to the Andes Range, and Pichidegua, closer to the Coastal Range.

While the first one is influenced by the cool currents that descend from the mountain peaks, the second gets the influx of the river, and results in high differences between night and day temperatures. One provides structure, typicity, fruit and concentration to the blend while the other offers elegance and complexity. Harvested by hand, the grapes that entered this wine underwent double selection before initiating the fermentation process, which followed the traditional method, with select yeasts and controlled temperature in stainless steel vats.

After completing the alcoholic fermentation, the wine was kept in contact with the skins for a few days to enhance its complexity and balance. Once malolactic fermentation was completed, the wine was transferred to French oak barrels where it aged for 15 months. After bottling, the wine was cellared for 6 months before it is released to the market.

Tasting Notes:

Color: Intense, deep garnet.
Nose: Intensely aromatic, with notes reminiscent of spices like white pepper, accented by delicate hints of dark chocolate, dried figs with mineral notes of herbs, spices, blueberries, and plums.
Taste: Firm acidity, juicy tannin, and a long finish that reveals notes of tobacco and candied fruit. In the mouth it opens gradually and provides a smooth, ripe and concentrated sensation. The smooth and ripe tannins evolve into a long-lasting finish.

100% Carmenere

Aged for 15 months in French oak barrels.

Rapel Valley, Chile

James Suckling Rating: 92 Pts.

14.5% ABV

750 ML