Viña La Playa 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

£7.60
Tasting notes
Black currant and cherry nose, with black berry jam undertones. Nice peppery mid-palate and balanced tannins. Ideal for the barbeque.

Why we recommend this wine
Chilean Cabernet Sauvignons are value-for-money alternatives to those grown in other regions – and this is a good example. Opens up nicely and benefits from decanting an hour in advance.

The wine
Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown in the Colchagua Valley is situated 80 miles south of the Chilean capital of Santiago, the southernmost portion of the Rapel Valley. The area has a Mediterranean, moderately dry and warm climate, with four clearly defined seasons including warm summers and rainy winters. With high diurnal temperatures the grapes are slow ripening, which maintain acidity, color intensity and bold flavors in red varieties. A deep elegant scarlet color.
After maceration the wine was fermented for 10 days and then underwent malolactic fermentation. The wine was then aged for 8 months; half in stainless steel and half in neutral French and American Oak.
La Playa wines have always been farmed sustainably, that is, no chemicals; water-saving irrigation practices; only native yeast strains are used and no genetically modified organisms.

The wine estate
Viña La Playa is a partnership between the Axelsens (who own CabCorp Wine Merchants in Marin, California) and two prominent Chilean winemaking legends: the Sutil and Errázuriz families. The winery encompasses 600 acres of prime property in the Colchagua Valley, plus 200 acres in Limarí Valley and additional vineyards in such highly desirable areas such as Curicó Valley, Bío-Bío and Maule Valley. They are firmly committed to organic principles in the vineyard and the winery.
laplayawine.com

Food and wine
With juicy dark fruit flavours it is ideal with roast root vegetables and sardines in tomato sauce and grilled meats and hard cheeses. Also see our guide to pairing food and wine here.

Did you know?
Maceration is part of the winemaking process whereby the phenolic materials of the grape—tannins, coloring agents and flavor compounds—are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must.