2013 San Pedro Altair Tinto Cachapoal Valley Chile

• Leading Producer in Chile
• Multiple 93pt Scores
• Annual Critical Praise 
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About the Wine

One of the finest estates in South America, San Pedro was founded in 1865  in the Curicó Valley of Chile by the Correa brothers. 150 years later, this family affair is universally recognized as one of the Chilean leaders in sustainable and innovative winemaking, exploring their rich and diverse soils to create wines with great density and concentration. One of the most important wineries in Chile and most significant exporters continues to push the boundaries of winemaking in Chile. Here's a rare opportunity to capture one of their top bottlings at an unbeatable value!

One of the brightest stars in the sky is Altair. Inspired by the stars, the San Pedro team decided to plant their vines in the Cachapoal Andes Valley, a site whose terroir was created by ancient volcanic eruptions and violent earthquakes dating back millions of years. These vines are the foundation for one of their top bottlings, Altair.

Altaïr’s soils from the Cachapoal-Andes Valley are quite diverse, an effect of the different geological and geomorphological origins existing in the area. This provides a lot of complexity to the wines. The weather here is strongly influenced by the Andes Mountains, with winds coming down from the peaks and cooling the area.

Aging: 20 months in 50% New French Oak; 50% one-year French Oak

Tasting Notes: Red Wine. Deep red with a violet tint. Aromas of raspberry, cassis, and blackberry are the first to slowly develop in the glass, and later give way to notes of spices, bitter chocolate, and cedar. The palate is well structured and complex, evoking fresh fruit on the palate. This is a wine of great character, purity, and elegance.

Reviews

In 2012 they had a too ripe and warm vintage, and they didn't like the grapes destined for Altair, so they didn't bottle it. So, we jumped to the 2013 Altair, which is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Syrah from their vineyard in Alto Cachapoal at some 450 meters altitude. It was selected from different plots with different soils, including volcanic, alluvial gravel, and decomposed volcanic with clay. It was fermented in 20 different lots in concrete, stainless steel, and oak and then matured in French barriques (50% of them new) for 18 months. The effect of the oak is still noticeable, especially when tasted next to the 2014. This feels old-style, quite spicy and oaky, relatively speaking. 8,228 bottles were filled in March 2015. ~93 Robert Parker

Olive, tree bark, and earthy berry and cassis aromas set up a rich palate that borders on thick and syrupy. Ripe flavors of maple, chocolate, and spiced berry fruits end in a swirl of mocha, spice, and creamy oak. This is far more ripe and fruity than prior vintages, which emphasized more herbal, hard-toned characteristics. Drink through 2022. ~93 Wine Enthusiast

Baked cherries and pure cassis notes on the nose mingle with nutty oak and a coal cellar character on this big, powerful, sun-drenched wine. It has refinement, purity and offers lots of pleasure and value. ~92 Decanter

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