Santa Digna Carménère 2024

Santa Digna Carménère is a Chilean red from Miguel Torres Chile, made from sustainably farmed fruit in the Central Valley. Carménère is the signature grape of Chile, a late-ripening variety that found a second home here after near disappearing from Bordeaux, and it needs the long, warm, dry Chilean growing season to ripen fully; picked too early it turns green and herbal, so full ripeness is the key to its plush, dark-fruited character. The wide diurnal range of the Central Valley, with warm days and cool nights off the Andes, keeps acidity fresh while the fruit ripens to 14 percent alcohol. The wine ages six months in Slavonian oak, a tight-grained European wood that adds restrained spice and a gentle, slow oxygenation to round the tannins without heavy toast or vanilla. It is deep cherry red with a purple rim. The nose shows ripe plum and black cherry with black pepper, cocoa, a wisp of smoke and the variety's savoury, herbal edge. The palate is full bodied and smooth, with ripe fruit, soft rounded tannins and a warming finish. Serve at 16 to 17 degrees, with grilled or roast meat.