Winemaker's comment

Our Medalla Real Carmenere has a deep and intense purple red color. The wine combines the variety’s typical fresh black fruit such and and spicy notes with tobacco, graphite and ripe plums. The result is a big, rounded and flavorful wine that is concentrated and persistent.

Sebastián Labbé

Winemaker for Viña Santa Rita’s Ultra Premium wines

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Vineyard

The grapes were sourced from two main areas within the Colchagua valley, the special conditions provided in this areas are ideal for long cycle varieties such as Carmenre. The soils from granitic origin soils and different depths have good clay contents to retain moisture and result in wines with great texture and soft tannins. The strong Mediterranean climatic conditions are ideal for these red varieties, with rain concentrated in the winter months ensuring dry and hot climate during summer and the beginning of autumn. The vines are trained using a traditional VSP system with yield ranging on average 10 ton/ha this trellising gives good light exposure and a reasonable air flow within the canop. The results are wines of great concentration, soft tannins and great length.

Vinification

The grapes were picked in late April, destemmed, partially crushed, and cold macerated for 7 days prior to fermentation. The must was inoculated with selected yeasts, and fermentation took place at 25º–28ºC (77º–82ºF). Delestages were frequent during the first two-thirds of the process and then short pumpovers at the end of fermentation in order to obtain balanced wines.. The new wine remained on its skins for another 20 days to develop the well-rounded sweetness that characterizes this wine.

Aging

This wine was aged in French oak barrels (25% new and 75% of second and third use) for 10 months to further develop its structure and fix the color.