The 2008 Oveja Negra Reserva Cabernet Franc Carmenère comes from the Maule Valley, 260 km (162 mi) south of Santiago. The valley features tremendous geographic diversity and a Mediterranean climate with well-defined seasons, including a warm, dry summer with a significant difference between daytime and night time temperatures and a cold, rainy winter. The average annual precipitation in the valley is 670-700 mm (26-28 in) and occurs primarily in the winter, which ultimately results in greater concentration in the wines. The lack of rain throughout the rest of the year encourages the control of plant vigor, keeps the grape berries small, and helps the bunches ripen uniformly.
The vertically positioned Cabernet Franc and Carmenère vines come from the La Esperanza vineyard. They were planted 9 years ago at a densit y of 1.5 x 2.2 m. Canopy management begins in early December for Cabernet Franc with a superficial deleafing of the basal shoots exposed to the morning sun. Carmenère, on the other hand, receives 2 deleafings during the season. The first takes place during the last week of December on the shoots exposed to the morning sun, and the second in late March on the shoots exposed to the afternoon sun. Both varieties present a naturally balanced yield of 8-10 tons per hectare, and therefore no cluster thinning was necessary.
Climate: Warm Mediterranean, with extended dry summers and cold, rainy winters.
Soils: Young alluvial soils in evolution, in low position and moderate fertility derived from conglomerates, breccia, tuff, and volcanic ash. Most of the soils are loam to clay-loam in texture.
Harvest Date:
Cabernet Franc: April 25
Carmenère: May 10
Tasting note: Lovely concentration of fruit flavours but with a nice bit of stalkiness to give it some grip.
This wine was awarded a Gold Award in the Chilean Wine Awards.
