2021 GARNACHA. Corralillo, Matetic. Casablanca Valley, Chile

The “Coralillo” range focuses on upfront and pure varietal expression. Their Garnacha (Grenache) is a new release in this range. The grapes come from Matetic’s 1.2 hectare Santa Tornás vineyard in the San Antonio Valley, just 18km from the sea. The vineyard was planted in 2017 on granite soils.

Hand harvested grapes, a proportion of whole bunch was included and the wine was fermented with wild yeasts and then aged in second, third, fourth fill French barrels for 14 months.

Matetic is a modern company founded by the family in 1999. They were Croatian by origin settling in Chile in 1892, as farmers and landowners. The present (fourth generation) – headed up by President Jorge Matetic – established themselves in the El Rosario Valley in San Antonio, Casablanca – Chile’s leading cool climate winemaking area.

They set out from the start to unitise this cool climate setting and farm organically – now fully converted to biodynamics; and this backdrop comes through in all their wines – both white and red – with a sense of purty, varietal definition, and consistently high quality. Today they are rightly seen as one of Chile’s finest producers.

They first planted 120 hectares which has since grown to 160 in total. Winemaking is overseen by Julio Bastías, with Roberto Pereira in charge of viticulture.

English summer pudding in a glass – lovely mix of red and blackberry fruits, touch of earthiness, with a dusting of tannins, fresh and juicy in style with a lick of soft spice.

Serve cool in the summer months, no need to decant. Ready for drinking now and over the next 2-3 years whilst at its fresh and vibrant best.