Pura Fé Carménère 2021

Antiyal was founded in 1996 by Alvaro Espinoza , Chile's largest biodynamic winemaker, and his wife Marina; Often called Chile's first "wine garage", today it is a modest-sized (and still family owned and operated) winery. Located in the Maipo Valley, the Antiyal estate functions as an ecosystem in its own right because biodiversity is used in the vines. There are meadows to feed the animals and the manure is used to make their own compost in order to maintain the fertility of the vineyard.

This wine expresses the pure character of the Maipo valley. Carménère , Chile's iconic grape variety, needs a long growing season to reach its full potential. The grapes are harvested manually at full maturity and manually selected before crushing. Fermentation takes place in small stainless steel vats by the action of native yeasts, with gentle pumping over and a long maceration of 25 days before pressing. The wine is then transferred to used French oak barrels. The wine is then aged in barrels for 10 months before bottling without fining or filtration. This wine reveals notes of blueberry , blackberry , blackcurrant , cocoa , black pepper , licorice and violet . The palate is round, creamy, both fresh and elegant with very supple tannins and a tasty finish reminiscent of small forest fruits.

It was Hernán Cortés who ordered, upon the conquest of Mexico, the cultivation of vines in 1524. It gradually extended from Mexico southwards to reach Chile in 1555. During the first 3 centuries of colonization, there was no Cultivated in Chile as país, a black grape variety without character and very productive. It was not until the middle of the 19th century that noble varieties were introduced: mainly cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay. Twenty years later, winemaking was modernized under the leadership of wealthy owners and French experts who were forced into unemployment by phylloxera in Europe. Chile stretches 4,300 kilometers from north to south. It is wedged between the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Andes Mountains to the east, the Atacama Desert to the north, the Patagonian plains and glaciers to the south. These natural barriers prevented phylloxera from entering the country. Although the country is only 160 kilometers wide, it has ideal conditions for growing warm, intermediate and cool grape varieties, so much so that it is often described as a paradise for growing grapes. With nearly 300 properties producing bottled wines, Chile fluctuates between 6th and 8th place in the world.