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Our 2007 Max Reserva Shiraz is sourced
from our Don Maximiano Estate located
in the Aconcagua Valley, a region with a
Mediterranean climate with moderately warm
summer days and cooling afternoon breezes.
The vineyards at Don Maximiano are dripirrigated
and planted in 1993 on a northwestfacing
5° slope with gravelly, sandy-clay soil
and very good drainage. The Shiraz vineyard
is vertically trellised to provide longer solar
exposure throughout the season and encourage
the development of high quality fruit. The
vines are spur pruned with intensive canopy
management to ensure an excellent balance
between leaf surface area and crop load.
Climate: Mediterranean, with moderately
warm summer days and cooling
afternoon breezes.
Soil: Gravelly, sandy - day soils.
warm summer days and cooling
afternoon breezes.
Soil: Gravelly, sandy - day soils.
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Picking Date: 4th week of April - 1st week of
May
Historic Averages:
Mean Temperature (Oct - Apr): 18.9ºC / 66ºF
Temperature Oscillation (Oct - Apr): 18.5ºC
/ 33.3ºF
RainFall (Year Round): 250 mm/9.8 inches
The overall temperatures recorded for the
2006-2007 season corresponded quite closely
to those of a normal year. Restrictive water
management, low yields, and delaying the
harvest for 10-14 days helped the grapes
reach good levels of maturity with appropriate
phenolic ripening, sweet, very high-quality
tannins, rich flavours, and excellent acidity.
Fifty mm (2 in) of rain fell in Aconcagua
in October, which affected flowering
and thus decreased the final production.
January temperatures were lower than the
historic average, and February had average
temperatures of 18.9°C (66ºF). The average
temperature during the first two weeks of
March was 18.3°C (65ºF), which contributed
to good tannin evolution and ripening. From
the third week of March on, temperatures
dropped significantly, which slowed the
ripening process and led to a delay in harvest.
Plant vigour maps were used intensively to
harvest sectors that showed lower vigour and
riper areas within each block.
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The Shiraz grapes were hand picked into small
boxes of no more than 12 kgs (26.5 lbs) to avoid
bruising the fruit. The grapes were carefully
selected on sorting tables, then destemmed,
gently crushed, and deposited into stainless steel
tanks where fermentation took place at 26°-
30°C (79°-86ºF). Post-fermentation maceration
lasted approximately 3 weeks, depending on the
development of the individual lots. The wine
was aged for twelve months in 48% new oak
barrels, 52% French and 48% American.
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Gorgeous violet-ruby-red in colour. The nose
offers a blend of fruits that recall blackberries
and ripe plum, along with the contribution of
the oak that expresses chocolate, incense, and
some roasted aromas. The palate presents plenty
of fiber and nerve, along with a very good
structure and plenty of juiciness that lends a
fresh sensation to this pleasingly persistent wine.
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100% Shiraz |
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Aconcagua Valley |
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14.5% by vol. |
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3.49 |
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6.07 g/l (tartaric acid) |
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3.40 g/l |
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