2018 El Principal Memorias

Viña EL Principal belongs to the absolute top from South America - Chile and that is not surprising because the house was founded in 1993 by partners Jorge Fontaine Aldunate, owner of the El Principal estate, and Jean Paul Valette, French winemaker and former owner of the famous Premier Grand Cru Classé Château Pavie in Saint-Émilion. Today the owner is the Said Sandal Family and the winery is of the most exclusive and premium in Chile with only 4 wines, but a range of wines of the highest quality that captures the spirit and typicity of Chilean terroir. The hand, tradition and experience of the Valette family of Château Pavie is reflected in every element and the style (and choice of grape variety) inextricably has a Bordelaises St Emillion twist, but that is not surprising given the background.

Located at the foot of the Andes Mountains in the Alto Maipo Valley (DO Maipo Andes), El Principal's terroir was perfect for their project; The unique combination of climate, soil type and altitude made it ideal for producing wines with character, unique identity and extraordinary quality.

Memorias was founded in 1999 as a tribute to the four centuries that have passed since the Picunches, the original people who lived on the land where our vineyards now stand, received the Spanish conquistadors, creating a completely new culture. The symbol of Memorias is the spiral of life, which represents the circle of life, understood as the permanent movement generated by experiences. This symbol is found in all ancient civilizations and represents evolution and continuous development.

Memorias is a perfectly balanced, well-structured blend that grows in complexity every year in the bottle. Carefully crafted to preserve the freshness and intensity of the fruit, this Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend contains varying percentages of other French varieties: Petit Verdot to enhance acidity and freshness; Syrah for its spicy notes; Carmenère for its intense color, red fruit and round tannins; and Cabernet Franc for its intense flavors and aromas. The resulting wine is fresh, with delicate layers of soft tannins - a blend that
faithfully captures the unique terroir of Alto Maipo.

The vineyard is located 780 m above sea level. A bit similar to Nappa Valley, for example. The cold ocean has a very big influence and the vineyards. The winds, the fog, moist air, the protection of the Andes mountains and the altitude cause large differences between day and night and this contributes to the extremely high quality of the fruit that can grow almost without intervention on the sandy loamy soils of alluvial origin. The 2016 Memorias is a Cabernet-driven wine (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Carmenère, 6% Petit Verdot, 9% Syrah) that has aged for 17 months in new French oak and then receives at least another 18 months of bottle aging before being released on the market. coming. This great wine has fantastic aging potential so be sure to decant in its younger years.