Undurraga Terroir Hunter Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
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Wine &
Spirits -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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Wine & Spirits
Pirque is one of the highest spots in the Andean Maipo and the best wines grown there tend to be elegant, with delicate herbal notes to their fruit. This one is firm and austere, but give it time, and oxygen helps to draw out its sense of place. Minty aromas and earth tones give way to complex notes of black pepper, herbs and cassis. Great to decant now for game, this will gain in grace with some years in the bottle.
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James Suckling
Loads of blackberry, black currant and dried flowers on the nose. Full body, velvety tannins, very pretty blueberry fruit and a mineral aftertaste. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 TH Cabernet Sauvignon Alto Maipo was sourced from the classical zone of Pirque in Alto Maipo, a cooler location within the valley. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels, 20% of them new, for 14 months. There are some meaty notes intermixed with ripe black fruit and spices but a notable absence of green and minty aromas, even though it's balsamic. 2014 was a low-yielding year, and the grapes achieved good ripeness; there's a little more concentration, a year that could have been dangerous if the grapes were picked too late. It's not the case here.
Other Vintages
2015-
James
Suckling
The Undurragas were early pioneers in Chilean winemaking, planting French varietals before the turn on the century and using wood barrels crafted by a master French cooper to age the wines and bring forward rich bouquet and flavors. In 1903, they were first to export wines to the U.S.
Undurraga's Santa Ana Estate, pictured on every label, is a proud expression of their long tradition of quality and innovation. Over the last few years, Undurraga has heavily invested in prime vineyards and facilities.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
The Maipo Valley is Chile’s most famous wine region. Set in the country’s Central Valley, it is warm and quite dry, often necessitating the use of irrigation. Alluvial soils predominate but are supplemented with loam and clay.
The climate in Maipo is best-suited for ripe, full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (the region’s most widely planted grape), Merlot, Syrah and Carmenère, a Bordeaux variety that has found a successful home in Chile.
White wines are also produced with great prosperity, especially near the cooler coast, include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.