Denis Duveau is a man on a mission. A consultant oenologue from the Loire he has decided to make terroir-driven wines in the New World. With colleague, Antoine Toublanc, a resident of Santiago, he discovered a location in the Rapel Valley, 100 km south of the capital, which had a perfect climate and terroir for making high quality red wines. The soil was composed of lime and clay with glacial deposits, whilst the temperature reached on average 32C during the day and 15C at night – perfect for the production of good anthocyanins. The grape they chose to express this terroir was Carmenere, formerly a Bordeaux speciality, but which had disappeared after the invasion of phylloxera.
The El Grano is made from grapes grown at 450m. The vines are ploughed, no weedkillers
are required, and because of the exceptional climate, no chemicals are needed either.
The yields are kept low by a green harvest. The juice is fermented at about 30C in stainless steel and sees no oak. This is a terroir-driven wine with real character, the nose expresses greenery in abundance: capsicum, green bean and mint pea and there is a satisfying highly digestible savoury bitterness in the mouth.
