Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Concha y Toro is a prominent Chilean wine producer, founded in 1883 by Melchor Concha y Toro, who was a lawyer and business person. As the winery and vineyard holding grew bigger, Concha y Toro began to export since its first batch in 1933. By 1987, the flagship wine, Don Melchor’s first vintage marks a precedent in winemaking history, as it was Chile’s first icon wine. Its name is a tribute to its founder and evokes the tradition of excellence that inspired him to establish the vineyard.

Marques de Casa Concha, this range of wines remark the fact that, Melchor Concha y Toro was the seventh Marquis of Casa Concha. In honor of this noble title, which dates back to 1718, the wines were named. They offer excellent quality, with rather modest price.

Cabernet Sauvignon of 2019 vintage came from Puente Alto Vineyard and Pirque Vineyard, both locate within D.O Maipo, Maipo Valley. The area is one of most historical of Chilean wine industry, many vineyard holdings date back to mid-19th century. Both vineyards are located close to the foothills of the Andes Mountains, and have alluvial soils that are poor in nutrients, rocky, and highly permeable due to the abundance of gravel in the subsoil.

For the vintage, Cabernet Sauvignon occupies 90% of the blend, but there are some auxiliary grape varieties planted alongside in the vineyard. They make up the rest of 10%, which includes Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Petit Verdot. This adds to complexity and palate texture variation. After the harvest, the grapes were destemmed and gently dropped into closed stainless steel tanks for fermentation,
which lasted 8 days at 26ºC.
 
After the wines were made, they age 16 months in French oak, both barriques and 5000 liters foudres. Some oaks are well toasted, granting the wines pleasant flavours of caramel and burnt marshmallow. Other barrels contribute more toward spices and earthy aroma. If you open it now (2023), the wine offers on the nose lush cherry, blackcurrant, and blackberry aromas with a touch of tar and smoke.
The highly concentrated flavors are framed by firm tannins. The texture is smooth and masks the firm tannic structure that lies below and
only appears on the lingering finish. If you can age this properly, tannic structure will open up in a few years time.