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Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve 2020
Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve 2020
- Grapes 67% Cabernet Sauvignon 12% Malbec 8% Carmenere 7% Petit Verdot 6% Cabernet Franc
- Country Chile
- Region Aconcagua Valley
- Abv 14 %
- Closure TypeCork
- Case size 6 / 75cl
- Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve contains aromas reminiscent of red fruits such as cherries and raspberries. Further back, some nice notes of cocoa and clove appear, culminating with a slight floral hint that suggests violets. Aligned with what is perceived on the nose, the palate offers cherry, raspberries, and cassis flavours, plus sweet notes of cocoa and clove. The wine has great tension and juiciness.
- Clearly an expertly crafted wine, this Cabernet-dominant red blend from Aconcagua is lively and precise while ripe and pure, with a structure that will keep it pristine for many years. Indeed, the Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve by Errazuriz is one of those top-end red blends that has benefitted from many years of thoughtful refinement, so it ended up as the complete wine it is today. What does that mean in terms of taste and structure? There’s a lovely mix of red berries, sweet cherries, juicy plums, black pepper, vanilla, and toast. And while fully ripe, there’s also this subtle bitter orange bite, bringing a bright edge, which, along with the fine, dry, taut tannins, makes this red refreshing and age-worthy.
Grapes were handpicked in the cool morning hours and transported in small 15-kg boxes to the winery, where they were inspected on a double selection board to ensure only the best quality grapes go to the final blend. Fermentation occurred in small-volume stainless steel tanks to allow more contact between the skins and the juice. Up to three daily pumpovers were made according to the desired level of extraction. Depending on the individual development of each lot, they completed a total maceration time of 8 to 30 days. All lots were aged 22 months in French oak barrels (65% new), where malolactic fermentation, clari cation, and stabilization occurred naturally. To best express the Aconcagua Valley terroir and increase the wine complexity, percentages of Malbec, Petit Verdot, Carmenere, and Cabernet Franc were added to the final blend to make it a truly complex wine.
With a beautiful ruby-red colour and a violet hue, the Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve captivates with aromas of red fruits recalling cherries, blackcurrants, and crème de cassis framed by light notes of tarts, nuts, and roasted coffee. In line with the perception on the nose, the palate offers refreshing acidity that heightens the red fruits, followed by spices and balsamic notes that recall dill and rosemary. The excellent palate shows tannins with extraordinary texture and tremendous body, making this a very persistent wine with great depth.
Price | £318.71 |
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Country | Chile |
Vintage | 2020 |
Bottles Per Case | 6 |
Bottle Size | 75 |
2 cases 10% off | Yes |
Winery | The Don Maximiano vineyard is located in the Aconcagua Valley, and the oldest of them are the Max I, Max II, and Max V blocks. The region has a long dry season with moderately warm summer days cooled by the soft evening breezes that enter the valley from the Pacific Ocean. Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere vines were planted in 1978 and 1993, respectively, while the Petit Verdot was planted in 1999. The three vineyard blocks contributing grapes for Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve are planted on north or northeast-facing hillsides with 5°–25° of slope. Soils are volcanic, colluvial, and piedmont (Max I and II) or alluvial (Max V) in origin, with good drainage conferring low to moderate vigour. The colluvial and volcanic rocky soils of Max I show a high presence of mica with a clay-silt texture. Max II has deep colluvial soils of volcanic origin, with loam to sandy-loam texture, and both have 30–40% stone content. Max V has deep, gravelly alluvial soils with 50% stone content and excellent drainage. |