Casa Silva Microterroir de Los Lingues Carmenère 2021

Hailing from an outstanding vintage, the 2021 Casa Silva Microterroir de Los Lingues Carmenère (95 Points – Tim Atkin, 94 Points – Vinous, 93 Points – James Suckling) is by all accounts the ultimate expression of the venerable Carmenère varietal. Profoundly colored and offering an intoxicating aroma of Morello cherry, dark plum, and other assorted fruits, the 2021 Casa Silva Microterroir Carmenère nearly sings from the glass. In the mouth, it offers 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 ravishing exit down the throat. By wedding elegance, opulence, and power in one wine, the 2021 Casa Silva Microterroir Carmenère is another legend in the making. 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 extraordinary effort now and for years to come. Serve this hedonistic, youthful wine at cool room temperature (58º-62º F) after at least 20-30 minutes of aeration. Better still, lay additional bottles down and enjoy this special wine for up to two decades. Anticipated maturity: 2024-2038. Enjoy!

A wine with the opulence and depth of the 2021 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, classic dishes, such as Beef Wellington, Pressed Duck Breast, and Rack of Lamb provide exceptional partners to this wine. More adventuresome gourmands may prefer Churrasco, a spicy, piquant Argentine or Nicaraguan-style Grilled Beef Tenderloin, which has attracted a growing number of aficionados. The rich flavors and spicy sauces of the Churrasco perfectly complement Microterroir’s opulence and intense flavors. Grilled Italian sausages and Texas-style ribs make tasty pairings too. Almost any grilled meat, ratatouille, or highly charged vegetable dish featuring eggplant will also find an indulgent partner in Casa Silva’s sensuous wine. Gourmet cheeses and dark chocolate truffles offer other gastronomic delights, so as you like it. Buen Provecho!

Casa Silva continues to astound critics and consumers alike with the quality and 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 with the planet’s most 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 it 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. They also fashion the finest Sauvignon Gris and Viognier in South America. Casa Silva contains many old vines, some 100 years of age, which accounts in part for the quality and intensity one finds in each of the estate’s wines. Casa Silva is the most highly awarded Chilean winery in the 21st century and it was named “Best Winery of Chile – 2020” by Catad’Or Wine Awards, the most prestigious international wine competition in Latin America.

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 in the finest vintages are used in making Casa Silva’s Microterroir de Los Lingues Carmenère.