Santa Rita, Medalla Real, Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon

• Vintage: 2019
  
• Origin: Maipo Valley, Chile
  
• Taste guide: Deep ruby-red in colour, with a bouquet of black and red fruit such as black currant, blueberries and cherries combined with cigar box, soft cedar and some spice notes. The concentrated palate offers well-rounded ripe tannins that create the prominent backbone that leads the wine on to a long, lingering finish.
  
• 75cl - 14% - Natural cork closure
  
• Food pairing: Hamburgers, steak, hearty meat dishes, hard cheeses.

The Medalla Real brand was born in 1983 in honour of Francisco García Huidobro, ancestor to the founding family of Viña Santa Rita and Marqués de Casa Real, who established the first Mint in Chile. To commemorate the Bicentennial of this event, a medal was coined with his profile and the symbol of the Spanish royal crown. Medalla Real is the label used by Viña Santa Rita for some of their best wines.

The grapes were handpicked and transferred into the winery for processing. The grapes are destemmed and lightly crushed, leaving some whole berries intact. The fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks at temps of 26-28 °C, the extraction program includes pump overs and delestages performed twice daily throughout 2/3 of the fermentation process to improve extraction then very gentle towards the end. Once the fermentation was completed, the wine in some selected tanks remained on its skins for extended skin contact. The wine was pressed using vertical basket presses. The wine was decanted in stainless steel tanks for 24 hours and then racked into barrels for its maturation using a combination of 2nd, 3rd and 4th year ol barrels. The wine was barrel aged for 12 months.

• Awards (previous vintage so only for reference)
  • 2016, Commended Sommelier Wine Awards 2019
  • 2016, Bronze Decanter World Wine Awards 2019
  • 2016, Bronze International Wine Challenge 2019