Caliterra

Winemaker Comment

A colour slightly alienated from black that turns ruby red on the edges of the glass. Flowing, complex aromas of dense forest under the rain, a combination of fallen leaves intermingled with cherry and chocolate liquor notes. Only after a while we can notice that this wine is a fluid: thick, is not enough to describe how dense is this wine. The ending has a very stimulating, tasty, fresh acidity and an almost infinitive length on the palate.

Vintage Note

The 2006 vintage was a cold, dry season. The accumulated heat summation measured in degree days (based on 10°C / 50ºF) between October 2005 and April 2006 was lower than it was during the 2005 season and over the course of the past seven years.

The primary challenge of the 2006 vintage was the particularly long wait for each variety to reach proper phenolic maturity, which resulted in higher sugar levels in the grapes. As it was particularly cold in the Colchagua Valley, the metabolism of the vines was much slower compared to normal years and the harvest started at the end of April.

As the climatic circumstances were very favourable towards the end of the growing season and due to quality-oriented viticultural measures undertaken, the grapes were very healthy at the moment of harvesting.

Fermentation and Aging

In its first vintage, Cenit 2005 has shown a capacity of differentiating itself among all other Chilean Icon wines, generating a pleasant and surprising effect.

In this second vintage, Cenit 2006, we ratify the proposal. We have combined the same varieties, with slight changes, since it is very important to verify that the merge of these varieties has the capacity to overstand, surprise and demonstrate the deep-root notes of terroir that Cenit displays.

The wine underwent malolactic fermentation and aged during 18 months in French (61%) and American (39%) new oak barrels blending beautiful oak aromas into the wine. During fermentation the initial highly concentrated aromas turned gradually into an elegant mix of fruit and spices. The wine was delicately fined in order to protect its elegant tannin balance and was naturally clarified through a long settling term.