2023 Vina Carmen Chardonnay Reserva Premier 1850
| Type of Wine | |
|---|---|
| Country | Chile |
| Region | |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Grape | |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (12.5%) |
| Drink window | 2025 - 2028 |
Description
When making Chardonnay, many different styles can be chosen, partly depending on soil and climate. By planting the grapes in the cool Casablanca Valley, this wine, like the Sauvignon of Carmen, gets a fresh and aromatic character, in which the fruit is paramount. The grapes are picked by hand at different harvest times. In this way, the wine gets more complexity, due to the diverse character of the harvested fruit. The grapes picked earlier have more acidity and nervousness, the grapes picked later provide depth and strength. A short and powerful exposure to a lot of oxygen (hyperoxidation) ensures less bitterness, and a more creamy character. 60% of the wine is fermented in used French oak barrels and 40% only saw stainless steel, again to preserve the freshness, in addition to a creamy and powerful character. Eight months of maturation on the fine lie (sur lie) ensured a powerful and aromatic glass of Chardonnay.
In the glass, the 1850 Chardonnay Reserva has a beautiful straw yellow color. In the nose, the wine has a beautiful subdued scent, almonds and hazelnuts, pear and a pleasant hint of citrus fruit, smoky, grapefruit. In the mouth it has a full and powerful taste, elegant, by a fresh acid, apple, citrus, peach, soft and buttery, beautiful ripe style.
Delicious with pasta with a vegetable sauce, creamy cheeses, sea bass with tapenade, razor clams.
Specifications
| Type of Wine | White |
|---|---|
| Country | Chile |
| Region | Casablanca Valley |
| Winery | Vina Carmen |
| Grape | Chardonnay |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Drinking as of | 2025 |
| Drinking till | 2028 |
| Alcohol % | 12.5 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Screw cap |
| Tasting Profiles | Dry, Aged on wood, Powerful, Rich, Round, Full, White fruit |
| Drink moments | Barbecue, Cadeau!, Lekker luxe, Met vrienden, Open haard, Romantisch |
Wijnhuis
Carmen is the oldest of the bodegas still active in Chilean viticulture. The house was founded in 1850 by Chistian Lanz, who named the winery after his beloved wife Carmen. Until 1987 it led a fairly inconspicuous existence. However, it was then taken over by the Claro family, who were also involved as co-owners in companies such as Santa Rita and Los Vascos. Substantial investments were made, and the opportunity was seized to establish one of Chile's most modern wine companies. In 1994, the carménère grape variety was rediscovered in the vineyards of Carmen. It was long thought that this grape variety was extinct because of the phylloxera, but research showed that the grape was still planted in the Alta Maipo Valley vineyards of Carmen. Since its rediscovery, the carménère grape has become the signature variety for Chilean viticulture. Due to the construction at the foot of the Andes mountains, the new cellars from the winery could be constructed in such a way that all movements with the wine only take place under the influence of gravity. The use of pumps, which somehow 'damage' the wine, make it less of a quality, is completely avoided in this way.
However, the basis of Carmen's success does not even lie in the state-of-the-art installations, but in the vineyard. The professional team of oenologists, led by MarÃa del Pilar González, also plays an important role in the production of quality wines. With its arrival in the early 1990s, the emphasis was placed on the quality of the grapes by the young winemaker Alvaro Espinoza. Now that winemaker Emily Faulconer has taken over Carmen's premium range, the focus is on making wines with their own identity and salvaging the value of the terroir they come from. Winemaker Emily Faulconer studied agricultural engineering at the Universidad Católica de Chile. She worked in wineries in the United States (Cakebread Cellars), New Zealand (Trinity Hill Winery) and France (Chateau Canon). Faulconer has also previously worked as head winemaker in Viña Arboleda, where she managed the viticultural and viticultural areas, emphasizing the production of fine wines with a sense of origin.