Cousino-Macul Merlot Valle Del Maipo 2018 (750ml)

 

Cousino-Macul Merlot

 

Valle Del Maipo 2018

 

This Merlot has a bright, red and clear color.  The aromas remind us to strawberry, soft mint, pepper and ginger.  It has an intense mouthfeel, presenting medium to high acidity, round tannins and long persistence.

 

Food Pairing

 

It´s perfect to have with medium intensity preparations like stroganoff, spiced pasta or mushroom risotto.  Excellent option as well to accompany with medium intensity cheese and cold cuts.

 

Wine Production

 

The grapes were ground immediately after harvesting.  They were then subjected to a cold maceration of 3 to 5 days before fermentation, which lasted between 8 to 10 days.  Selected yeasts were used at a fermenting temperature between 26°C and 28°C.  After this it passed through a full malolactic fermentation, settled for 6 months in tanks and bottled.

 

The Vineyard

 

The climate during the growing season was not typical compared to previous years.  All of our wines developed very well, ending up fresh and with good natural acidity.  In general, we will get lower yields but high-quality wines, representative of the climate conditions, origin and variety.

 

Alcohol:  14.1%

 

Production Information

 

Vineyard Name:  Buin and Macul Vineyards

 

Vineyard Size:  Various Acres

 

Soil Composition:  Calcareous soil, sand and rough stone

 

Elevation:  1,320-1,890 feet

 

Vines/Acre:  920-2,000

 

Yield/Acre:  2.6 Tons

 

Exposure:  North and South

 

Total SO2:  67

 

Harvest Time:  March

 

First vintage of this wine:  2002

 

Bottles produced of this wine:  247,000

 

Winemaking & Aging

 

Varietal Composition:  100% Merlot

 

Fermentation Container:  Stainless steel tanks

 

Length of alcoholic fermentation:  8-10 Days

 

Maceration Technique:  Pump over

 

Maceration length:  7 days

 

Type of aging container:  Stainless steel tanks

 

Length of bottle aging:  3 Months

 

Size of aging container:  41,000 L

 

Length of aging before bottling:  3 Months

 

 

Cousiño-Macul

 

Estate Owner:  The Cousiño Family

 

Winemaker:  Rosario Palma Corrales

 

Total Acreage Under Vine:  750

 

Founded:  1856

 

Founded in 1856, Cousiño-Macul is the only 19th century winery in Chile that remains in the hands of the original founding family.  All Cousiño-Macul reserve wines are estate grown, vinted and bottled.  After seven generations and over 150 years, Cousiño-Macul’s mission rings clear — to produce world-class wines that are unmistakably Chilean, carrying the distinctive character of the Maipo Valley.

 

Location of Vineyard

 

In 1994, the capital city of Santiago had expanded to the point of completely surrounding the original Macul estate in the southeast of the city, so the search for an additional single estate vineyard location began.  In May 1996, the Cousiño family bought 750 acres of land in Buin, an agriculturally rich subregion of the Maipo Valley, about 20 miles southeast of Santiago.  The Buin estate met the Cousiños’ ambitious criteria of soil composition, climate and proximity to the Andes Mountains.

 

Few wine producers have the opportunity to make a completely new start, incorporating the best of their age-old experience and the most contemporary technology available.  As technology continues to advance in the vineyards and wineries around the world, Cousiño Macul has seized this opportunity to innovate while staying true to the most important part of their long history.

 

Winemaking Philosophy

 

All Cousiño-Macul wines are made entirely with grapes sourced from its two estates located in the Maipo Valley.  Both the Macul estate in the southeast of Santiago and the estate in Buin are part of the subregion known as Alto Maipo.  The Alto Maipo is appropriately named due to high altitude orientation at the foot of the Andes Mountains.  As the snow melts in the spring and summer, the Andes provide an ample source of pure, fresh water for vineyard irrigation.  The soil is especially suited for the production of high-quality grapes: shallow, sandy-silky topsoil with rough stone below.  All vines are planted on original root systems.  Vines for new plantations come from massal selections carried out in the nurseries at Macul over a period of 10 years.  This selection has allowed the preservation of genetic material of great value, originally brought to Chile by Luis Cousiño in 1860, including Cabernet and Merlot varieties from Pauillac in Haut-Medoc, and Sauvignon Gris from Martillac in Graves.

 

A graduate of the Pontifical University, Rosario Palma Corralles has held several esteemed positions at renowned wineries around the world.  After studying agronomy with a specialty in Enology, Rosario joined the Cousino-Macul team early in her career from 2003-2004.  She also worked the alternate 30-04 season in Oakville, for Kendall Jackson.  She then went on to work for Borsao, as well as various wine regions in Spain, Italy, France and Germany. 

 

Rosario came back to the winery in 2012 and in late 2018 succeeded Gabriel Mustakis as the Head Winemaker.