Aristos Duque Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

Aristos Duque Cabernet Sauvignon is a red from Cachapoal in Chile's Central Valley, made by a partnership of winemakers Pedro Parra, François Massoc and Louis-Michel Liger-Belair who set out to bring French influence to Chilean terroir. The Cachapoal soils and the cooler, higher sites give Cabernet Sauvignon that ripens fully while keeping fresh acidity, helped by a wide day to night temperature range that fixes colour and firms the tannin. The wine spends twenty four months in 225 litre French oak barrels, which through slow oxygen exchange soften the structure and add cedar and vanilla spice while the fruit concentrates. This is a full bodied wine with deep ruby colour. The nose shows blackcurrant, plum and cherry over vanilla, cedar and a leathery edge, and the palate is firm and structured with grippy tannin, dark fruit and a long savoury finish. It has the concentration to age further in bottle. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees, decanted for an hour. It suits red meat and hard cheese.