Matetic VineyardsSyrah EQ 2012

“The first thing you have to do with this wine is decant it, giving it time for the fruit to absorb the scents of oak that inundate it when you open the bottle. Air brings out a balance of sweetly ripe fruit and a powerful backbone of acidity, gracefully incorporating the oak into succulent flavors. This is biodynamically farmed on Chile’s far coast. It should develop well over the next several years.

More and more they see barrels as porous containers rather than source of aromas for the wines, and the 2012 Syrah EQ does not show any oak, despite its extended élevage. It is sourced from their El Rosario and Santo Tomás biodynamic vineyards in red granite, quartz, volcanic rock and cay soils from flatter vineyards. The crushed grapes are mixed with some full clusters and put through a cold soak. After a week, the temperature is let up and fermentation starts. There is a five day post fermentative maceration and then malolactic is in 225-liter French barrique where the wine matured for 18-20 months before bottling. The soils are more complex and the yields are lower; you feel the ripeness and the heat of the vintage -- this is spicier, with more black olive and tapenade aromas, a little heady. The palate is medium to full-bodied, juicy, round and balanced with ripe flavors, very fine texture and good length. It improves with air, so open in advance or let it breathe in the glass. 17,000 bottles produced.

A polished style, with lively minerality to the red plum, dark currant and dried blackberry flavors, which are long and lush-tasting. Shows a lithe creaminess midpalate, presenting a chocolate mousse—infused finish. Drink now through 2019