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An affable, rustic Merlot, the '09 is the third release of Bodega Chacra's Mainque. If you've ever hungered for a Merlot with a little more body, a little more heft, and a little more manliness, this is the Merlot of your dreams. Dark almost brooding fruit, a subtle humidor of smokiness and a tempting savory meatiness make the '09 Mainque stand apart from the crowd. It's not your father's Merlot--but maybe it should be. Drinking now to five years from now.
- Country: Argentina
- Region: Patagonia
- Subregion: Rio Negro
Bodega Chacra is located in the Rio Negro Valley of northern Patagonia, 620 miles south of Buenos Aires, roughly equidistant west to east from the Andes Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. The region possesses a dry and arid climate and is protected by a natural barrier of the surrounding desert. The air is pristine and without pollution, creating tremendous luminosity and purity of sunlight. The seasons are precisely defined, with hot summers, cold winters and mild springs and autumns. This consistency of climate creates a consistency of wine from vintage to vintage.
In 2004, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta purchased the first of vineyard land, which is now Bodega Chacra. At the time this was a property with an existing, though abandoned, vineyard planted over seventy years ago. Piero was called from of his multigenerational, Italian winemaking family to the southern hemisphere, compelled by the goal to produce world-class Pinot Noir from uncharted and untested territory.
This singular vineyard at Bodega Chacra is of thick, pure, gnarled Pinot Noir vines, plants from their own rootstock producing tiny bunches of small, concentrated berries which are harvested by hand. No automated mechanization is used at any stage of the production process. The grapes are refrigerated to preserve the freshness of their fruit, and then hand de-stemmed and sorted before moving to cement tanks for fermentation.
Winemaking continues at Bodega Chacra in the most natural manner and the first wine vinified at the estate is “Trienta y Dos.” When the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the wine is transferred off the skins into small French oak barrels in the most gentle manner possible, by gravity, without pressing or filtering. Bottling takes place around the first week of March without fining or filtration. The objective is for the oak, the fruit and the nuances of the soil to marry perfectly so that influence of the wood is nearly imperceptible in the wine, and the vine and character of the land are expressed to their fullest.
Following the acquisition of the 1932 vineyard, and preceding the 2006 vintage, Piero discovered and purchased two additional old vine Pinot Noir vineyards. This acquisition allowed for the making of two additional Bodega Chacra wines. The first, from a vineyard planted in 1955, is referred to “Cinquenta y Cinco”. The second wine called “Barda” (“The Ridge”) is a blend of “declassified” grapes from the single-vineyard wines coupled with grapes from a fifteen years old vineyard which is located on the original 1932 property.
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