A cooler vintage like 2021 showcases more dark fruit as opposed to red. Blackberry and blueberry notes shine together, with a bit of white pepper on the nose. Black olives and meaty notes combine with tertiary scents of tar and toffee. A floral note, reminiscent of violets, shows up a few seconds from the opening. Vibrant, alive and as elegant as a cool climate Syrah can be, the vertical acidity is one of the main features of this wine, and a guarantee for a long ageing potential. Serve ideally at (16-18ºC/60-64ºF) with beef stew, cassoulet, grilled lamb or spicy sausages. Black olives (tapenade) or French onion soup as a vegetarian option. Cheeses like aged cheddar or manchego. Back in the 90`s, Syrah in Chile was commonly grown as a grape to be blended into Carmenere or Cabernet Sauvignon, and thus a lot of it was planted on the same warmer valleys like Maipo or Colchagua. Luckily, some visionary vine growers such as the Cúneo family who founded Casas del Bosque began planting in cooler places such as Casablanca Valley, which eventually became a flagship exponent of “cool climate Syrah”. The Gran Reserva is a perfect example of everything this style should have: on one hand, there is concentration, ripeness, and a flavor palette that speaks “Grand cru” thanks to the vines being planted on a slope slightly protected from the direct impact of ocean breezes coming into the valley. On the other, you can find a remarkable acidity that brings freshness and a lively expression of the site, as the 2021 vintage had a particularly cold growing season.

This wine comes from a selection of fruit from ungrafted vines planted between 2000 and 2010 in Casas del Bosque´s own vineyard in Las Dichas: the coolest, westernmost reach of Casablanca Valley. Mainly sourced from red, iron rich
granitic soils and blocks equipped with drip irrigation, these vines were cropped at an average of 7 tons per hectare (3.1 US tons per acre). On arrival to the winery, the fruit was destemmed and cold soaked for three days. Fermentation occurred thanks to selected yeasts on open topped tanks, which were hand-plunged twice daily. The young wine was then drained to French oak barrels (20% new) for 12 months. 18% of the blend was aged for 6 months in a concrete vessel with inactivated yeasts. 3,600 cases were produced, with the wine being vegan
friendly.