Casa Silva Microterroir de Los Lingues Carmenère 2012

The 2012 Casa Silva Microterroir de Los Lingues Carmenère is by all accounts the ultimate expression of Carmenère in the best of vintages from Chile’s most emblematic red grape variety, and has garnered 93 points from James Suckling and 91 from Vinous. A saturated, profoundly dark purple color, a heady aroma of Morello cherry, dark plum, and other assorted fruits whose breadth can fill a room, and layer upon layer of opulent ripe fruit, dark chocolate, coffee, and spice flavors that coat the mouth and linger long after the wine has made its way down the thirsty throat all add up to the ultimate Carmenère as well as a truly peak wine experience. Elegant, opulent, and powerful all at once, the 2012 Microterroir de Los Lingues is knockout stuff upon which legends are built. Produced from a collection of tiny micro-sites within the legendary Los Lingues vineyard that are vinified separately and aged 12 months in French oak before the winemaking team painstakingly selects the finest barrels, one can taste and see why critics have dubbed Casa Silva’s Los Lingues Microterroir “the ultimate Carmenère.” Enjoy this majestic effort now and for years to come. For optimal enjoyment we suggest serving the lush, hedonistic 2012 Microterroir de Los Lingues at cool room temperature (58º-62º F) after at least 15-20 minutes of aeration.

A wine with the opulence and depth of the 2012 Casa Silva Microterroir de Los Lingues Carmenère needs nothing more than a clean vessel to work its magic. For true Carmenère lovers, nothing else will be required. However, given the caliber of this Carmenère and the smorgasbord of flavors contained therein, pairing it with foods of comparable stature could be cause for gastronomic ecstasy. Classic cuisine, such as Beef Wellington, Pressed Duck Breast, and Rack of Lamb all pair beautifully with this wine. Yet, perhaps, even more exciting is Churrasco, an Argentine or Nicaraguan-style Grilled Beef Tenderloin. It gets our nod every time we serve the finest Carmenère. The rich flavors and spicy sauces of the Churrasco perfectly complement the Microterroir Carmenère from Los Lingues. Nonetheless, almost any grilled meat and highly charged vegetarian dish featuring eggplant will find an indulgent partner in Casa Silva’s opulent 2012 Microterroir Carmenère. Gourmet cheeses and dark chocolate truffles offer other gastronomic delights with this sensuous beauty, so as you like it. Enjoy!

As the rave reviews will attest, Casa Silva continues to astound critics and consumers alike with the quality as well as the variety of the wines it produces. Since its inception, Casa Silva has been an exemplary, pioneering winery that is not afraid to push the quality envelope in each vintage with its exciting Carmenère wines, the most prized of which is the estate’s Microterroir de Los Lingues Carmenère (this month’s feature).

Although the estate’s Colchagua vineyards are the oldest in the region, Casa Silva has only been making fine wine since 1997, the year the winery began bottling premium wines under its own name. However, historical accounts tell us that the Silva family’s predecessors were pioneers in Colchagua more than a century ago, when they brought the first grape varieties from France to their Angostura estate at the base of the towering Andes. Today, the Silvas remain pioneers: they are Colchagua’s foremost experts on Carmenère, Chile’s emblematic red grape variety, and they produce the finest Sauvignon Gris and Viognier in South America, too. Casa Silva contains many old vines, some 100 years of age, which helps account for the quality and intensity one finds in each of the estate’s wines.

Casa Silva is located at the northern edge of the Colchagua Valley at the foot of the Cordilleran Andes. This is a magical place that is steeped in sheer physical beauty, as well as Chilean tradition. Colchagua’s natural climatic conditions and terroir make it an extraordinary place to produce wine, which in no small way accounts for the great number of award winning wineries now in Colchagua. In Colchagua, Carmenère is king and Casa Silva’s Los Lingues Vineyard is the most prized vineyard in the entire realm. Only the oldest and finest parcels of this great vineyard are used in making Casa Silva’s Microterroir de Los Lingues Carmenère.