Morandé Pionero Merlot Reserva 2022
This beautifully balanced Merlot combines smooth ripe plum and raspberry fruit with some savoury cinnamon spice and a neat medium-bodied texture, finishing on notes of dark chocolate.
The vines are predominately planted on granite and clay soils of moderate fertility and sandy-loam soils. The vineyards are trained to vertical shoot position, spur pruned and drip irrigated to properly control ripening. Harvest took place in mid-March.
After harvest twenty percent of the grapes were left whole, with the remainder crushed. They then underwent three days’ cold maceration, before being fermented at 24-26ºC with another 15-18 days on skins before going through natural malolactic fermentation. Twenty-five percent of the wine was aged in fourth and fifth-use oak barrels (mostly French) for six months before blending and bottling.
| RRP | £12.25 |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Alcoholic strength | 13.5% |
| Country | Chile |
| Region | Maule |
| Grapes | Merlot 90%, Cabernet Sauvignon 9%, Carmenère 1% |
| Body | C/D |
| Contains sulphites | Yes |
| Vegetarian | Yes |
| Vegan | Yes |
| Organic | No |
| Biodynamic | No |
| Closure | Screwcap |
Morandé was founded in 1996 by Pablo Morandé, and found immediate recognition both domestically and abroad. Morandé are true pioneers – they were the first family to develop the Casablanca D.O., recognising the fantastic potential of this cool-climate wine region. They also led the way in reviving old viticultural regions such as Maule and Itata, working with old dry-farmed bush vines and unconventional varieties such as Carignan, País and Cinsault. All of the wines are produced with grapes from Morandé’s own vineyards. Their winemaking philosophy is guided by seeking the right terroir for each grape variety, and with significant vineyard holdings they are well placed to achieve this.
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