2017 Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve

An Aconcagua blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 8% Carménère, 7% Petit Verdot and 6% Cabernet Franc that spent 22 months in French oak, 22% of it new. 14% alcohol. The ripe nose contains blackberry, blueberry and blackcurrant jam, a touch of oak and cocoa. Indulgent in the mouth with firm, juicy tannins. A serious wine.

I like the austerity of the 2017 Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve—it's more reserved than the 2016, more discrete and less aromatic, with a lot of power on the palate. 2017 is a structured vintage, and the challenge was to find elegance, freshness and balance, as the weather was warm and dry. It's a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 8% Carmenere, 7% Petit Verdot and 6% Cabernet Franc—a classical Chilean Bordeaux blend—with notes of black fruit, cassis and blackberry, serious and with better-integrated oak. They are very careful with the use of oak, using barrels that mark the wine less, especially in warm vintages, and using fewer new barrels. The wine has structure and tannin but also has the juiciness to balance it all. There are 66,662 bottles of this.

67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 8% Carmenère, 7% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc. A selection of vineyard blocks Max I, Max II and Max V, located in the Aconcagua Valley at 600 m above sea level. Hand-harvesting and selection. The fermentation took place in small stainless-steel vats, then the wine was aged for 22 months in new (72%) and used (28%) French oak barrels. A classically styled wine. The oak stands out, but it is polished and delicate. It has a bordelais profile. Complex nose with notes of forest floor and wood. It is a perfectionist wine, with a delicate and polished palate and perfect balance. Classy. (FC)