2011 Concha Y Toro Gravas Del Maipo Syrah

Concha Y Toro, with headquarters in Santiago, Chile, is the largest producer of wines in Latin America. The winery includes about 30,000 acres of vineyards spread throughout Chile’s major wine producing regions. Concha Y Toro was founded in 1883 by Don Melchior de Santiago Concha y Toro and his wife. They brought grapes starts from Bordeaux, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Semillon and Carmenere, and in 1923 the company sold shares through the Santiago stock market. Today the stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s flagship wine is the Don Melchior Cabernet Sauvignon, which comes from 25-year-old vines in the Maipo Valley’s Puente Alto Vineyards. The wine generally contains about 5% Cabernet Franc and is aged in French Oak for more than a year. About 13,000 cases of the Don Melchior are produced each year.

The Central Valley is Chile’s most productive wine region, and it includes four sub-regions. The Maipo Valley is one of those sub regions. The Maipo Valley has nearly 8,000 acres under vine. Grapes grown are, in order of acreage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Carménère, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Pinot Noir. Maipo is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chile has produced wine since the 16th century, when Spanish conquistadores brought grape vines and established vineyards. Sweet wines were favored until well into the 19th century, when French immigrants began making dry wines with a decidedly French character. Chile’s long, narrow, coastal geography has made the transportation of wines challenging over the centuries, though today it is a major exporter. To the west is the Pacific Ocean, to the east are the Andes. But the isolation has also meant that Chile vineyards have so far never been attacked by phylloxera, meaning that unlike viticulturalists in many other part of the world, Chilean vineyards can be planted with original rootstock, saving producers the laborious job of grafting vines onto phylloxera-resistant rootstocks. Chile started an appellation system in 1994, and there are five regions each with numerous sub-regions. Chile has attracted investment from European and American producers, including Robert Mondavi Winery, Kendall-Jackson, Lafite-Rothschild and Miguel Torres.

This grape is grown in milder climates and produces a medium-to full-bodied wine. It is also known as Shiraz, but should not be confused with Petit Sirah, which was developed by crossing Syrah with Peloursin.