About This Product :
Appellation:
Marchigüe Area, Colchagua Valley, Chile
Varietals:
85% Malbec, 11% Syrah, 4% Mourvedre
The Wine:
Deep violet-red. On the nose, it displays floral notes and black fruits accompanied by moss and spicy hints. It’s a full-bodied wine with a very balanced texture between its acidity and the fruit. Integrated tannins and a long finish.
The Viticulture:
At the beginning of the summer in 2008, the Polkura Hill suffered a bush fire, threatening the vineyard and getting very close to the area where the Malbec is planted. Thanks to several neighbors, a disaster was avoided. Although a Malbec component had always been used in previous years for the Polkura Syrah blend, after this event this great Malbec deserved to be bottled on its own.
Soil type : Decomposed granite with clay
Trellising system : Vertical shoot positioning
Pruning : Cordon
Irrigation : Drip
The Vinification:
Cold soaking (8-11°C) : 2 days
Fermentation temperature : Days 1–3: 29-30ºC Day 3–8: 25–28ºC
Alcoholic fermentation : 8 days
Pump-overs : Days 1–3: 3 per day, Days 3–6: 2 per day, Day 6–finish: No pump-overs
Total skin contact : 40 days
Malolactic fermentation : 100% in oak barrels
Ageing:
Blend in oak barrels : 100%
Coopers : Sylvain Nadalié. Allary, Saury
Grain and toasting : Fine and Extra Fine. M+ toasting
Time in barrels : 12 months
Type of barrels : 100% French oak
Age of barrels : 20% new, the rest 2nd, 3rd, and 4th use
Rackings : 1
Alcohol :14.7%
Residual Sugar : 2.53 g/L
Total acidity: 5.06 g/L
pH : 3.64
The Winery:
Polkura is the name of a small hill, located inside the vineyard. On its slopes they grow grapes which give rise to this wine. Polkura means “Yellow Stone” in the original language Mapuche, referring to the large amount of yellow granite clay soils distributed by sector. The decomposed granite (maicillo) gives the wine minerality and elegance, while clays provide body and structure. The moderate climate adds fruitiness and spicy notes, resulting in a fine, complex and harmonious wine in perfect balance.
The Winemaker:
The journey starts in 1998, when winemaker Sven Bruchfeld along with his friend and university buddy Gonzalo Muñoz, were dreaming of future projects to do together. Gonzalo was studying in Spain and Sven was working during vintage in different wine regions around the world. They met at that time near Narbonne, in the south of France. A tasting of a Mediterranean style Syrah in one of the local wineries matched with a tasty lamb and mint sauce, defined this grape variety as the one to be the base for their future wine.
Once both were back in Chile, they set out to find the best place to develop a vineyard in order to maximize the grape quality and therefore the wine they had in mind.
This is how in 2002 they found the place they aimed. A neglected property in the Marchigüe area -the Western end of the Colchagua Valley- met the soil and climate requirements needed to fulfill their dream.
12 ha on the Polkura hill were planted being 2004, the first vintage.
