Mayu Valle de Elqui La Campañia Vineyard Carmenère-Syrah 2017

The 2017 Mayu Valle de Elqui La Campañia Vineyard Carmenère-Syrah (90 Points – Wine Advocate) offers a unique blend of two of Chile’s finest red varietals as well as a bold, rich draught of Old World tradition. The 2017 Mayu Carmenère-Syrah is the beneficiary of four years of bottle age, which has smoothed its full, ripe tannins and made it ideal for present consumption. The 2017 Mayu Carmenère-Syrah sports a deep purple color and offers juicy blackberry and plum aromas that practically jump from the glass. Deep berry flavors wedded to hints of black pepper and exotic spices from the Syrah and racy red fruit flavors and delightful earth tones from Carmenère make the 2017 Mayu Valle de Elqui La Campañia Vineyard Carmenère-Syrah one tasty, fine drinking red. Silky smooth tannins and a deft touch of vanilla from the wine’s interlude in oak provide a bold, explosive finish. For optimal enjoyment we suggest opening this delightful Carmenère-Syrah blend 10-15 minutes before serving at cool room temperature (58°-62° F). Anticipated maturity: 2020-2023.

Carmenère and Syrah fans won’t require a morsel to enjoy the rich, savory delights of the 2017 Mayu Valle de Elqui La Campañia Vineyard Carmenère-Syrah. Nonetheless, very few wines complement food better than Carmenère and Syrah. Given the lush, bold personality of the 2017 Mayu Carmenère-Syrah, it would be a shame not to pair it with fine cuts of meat, spicy stews, marinated vegetable dishes, stick to your ribs risottos, or a host of Mediterranean inspired dishes. A perfectly grilled New York Strip, topped with caramelized onions; beef sliders; bison burgers with plenty of toppings; and all kinds of barbecue offer excellent accompaniments to Mayu’s 2017 Carmenère-Syrah. Char-grilled Chorizo sausage served with Sherried sweet pepper tapenade and pulled pork tenderloin, slow cooked in a savory barbecue sauce, provide more superb accompaniments. But if spending long hours in the kitchen holds little appeal, consider serving a simple Margherita pizza or flat bread with Gorgonzola, crispy pancetta and roasted three-color tomatoes with this Mayu treasure. Buen Provecho!

The Olivier family are pioneers in Chile’s Elqui Valley and the founders of Viña Mayu. “Mayu,” meaning river of stars, draws its name from the Inca word for the Milky Way. The Oliviers first ventured into fine winemaking in the Elqui Valley with Viña Falernia in 1998 after decades of producing pisco (Chile’s national spirit made from white wine and akin to grappa) with plantings of Carmenère and Syrah. Subsequently, they established Viña Mayu as an independent family winery in 2005. In just a little more than a decade, Viña Mayu has achieved extraordinary success with Carmenère, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Pedro Ximénez, an exceptional Spanish grape variety that thrives in warm, arid climates.

Since he was a young boy, Mauro Olivier worked for his family’s table grape business and later in the family’s production of pisco, helping the Oliviers become one of the three leading Chilean producers of pisco. A visit to Elqui Valley by Mauro’s oenologist cousin Giorgio Flessati at harvest time for the pisco grapes set the stage for Viña Mayu.

Giorgio Flessati was born in Trento, Italy to a long line of viticulturists and chose to continue the family tradition by completing his studies in oenology at San Michele all’Adige, Italy’s celebrated wine academy near Trento. Giorgio serves as winemaker at Mayu. He is also the General Manager and Chief Winemaker for Lagaria in Italy with projects in both northern Italy and Sicily.

Elqui Valley lies 325 miles north of Santiago and is Chile’s northernmost wine region. Elqui Valley borders the Atacama Desert, reputed to be the driest spot on Earth. The valley’s lack of water vapor and a dearth of ambient light are ideal for star gazing as well as the cultivation of warm weather grapes, which thrive on the valley’s brilliant luminosity and pure water from irrigation projects that flow from Andean snow melt. Elqui Valley’s unique orientation and great variance in terroir provide a spectrum of environmental elements that account for an enormous diversity in the valley’s viticulture, providing splendid terroirs for Carmenère and Syrah as well as cooler climate grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.