Caliterra

Harvest Report

The 2010-2011 season registered a lower heat summation in every zone with respect to the historic average. Viñedo Caliterra was a special case in that by February 2011 it presented a 27% fewer degree days than in the average of the three previous years. March and April presented temperatures close to the historic averages, which helped the vines reach good phenolic maturation in the later-ripening red varieties such as Cabernet, Syrah, and especially, Carmenere.

Tasting Notes

This wine is a very attractive, bright and lively ruby-red in color.
It is fresh on the nose, with notes of fruits such as plum and strawberry accompanied by mild aromas of coffee beans and mocha.
The medium-bodied palate is silky with tones of fresh fruit and sharp acidity that makes this wine easy to drink.

Fermentation and Aging

As is usually the case, once again the polygonal work in the vineyard was crucial this season. This consists of rationally separating the vineyard by heterogeneitym in accordance with differences generated by the diversity of the soils. With the help of the latest technology and using multispectral images, we are able to identify the plants’ state of maturity and harvest the fruit polygonally, separating it by uniform blocks to begin its process toward the bottle rather than in a mass of grapes with different levels of ripeness.
This season it was particularly important to manage the harvest very carefully because the fruit ripened late, and the selection of just the right level of maturity per lot allowed us to obtain wines with tremendous fruit expression, the proper roundness on the palate, and an excellent balance of freshness.
Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks, beginning at 28ºC (82ºF) and then dropping to 24ºC (75ºF) to prevent over-extraction from the skins.
The wine was aged in oak barrels for 8 months, during which time malolactic fermentation took place.

Winemaker’s Notes

This vintage of our Merlot Reserva from our Caliterra Vineyards is the product of the cold 2010-2011 growing season and presents tremendous fruitiness and elegance. This season’s particular weather conditions were perfect for the variety and produced a wine of great color and aromatic intensity. Produced under our sustainable philosophy, it is with much affection that we present this Merlot as an excellent representative of our unique terroir.