Caliterra

Winemaker Comment

A very attractive bright pink color. Aromas of strawberries, ripe raspberries, and cherries pair with a smooth, well-rounded palate that offers up pleasing volume and a long, persistent finish.

Vintage Note

The average temperature dropped each month during the growing period, and reached 18.4% lower than historic averages in April and 3% lower in the warmest month, January. This made the season a very challenging one for achieving optimum ripeness, as delays of 11–13 days in the vines’ phenological stages were recorded early on, while the heat summation was lower, ultimately reaching 1,538 DD, 175 DD fewer than in the previous year and 9.5% lower than the historic average. This positioned Colchagua as one of valleys with the lowest heat summations, with the greatest drop in average temperatures and heat summation during the 2009–2010 season.

Fermentation and Aging

The grapes were harvested at optimum ripeness, crushed, destemmed and deposited into the tanks, where they underwent a 24-hour pre-fermentation maceration. Each tank was bled 5–10% once the desired color was obtained. The must was centrifuged, and the clean juice fermented without oxygen at 12º–15ºC (54º–59ºF). Fermentation of some lots was halted to maintain the fruit aromas along with a small percentage of residual sugar. The wine was stabilized, filtered, and bottled as quickly as possible.