Vinedo Chadwick 2020 (OWC 3)

The 2020 Viñedo Chadwick fermented in stainless steel and concrete or troncoconic vats, and this year more of the wine matured in Stockinger foudre—more than 25% of the volume—for 22 months. They did a softer extraction to compensate for the warmer year, and the moderate alcohol helped to keep the oak extraction to a minimum; as a result, the wine comes through as very harmonious and elegant. It has good ripeness and an absence of herbal and minty aromas; the wine from older vines behaves better—the grapes ripen and the alcohol (with good management of the irrigation) with moderate yields produce this unique Cabernet. The palate is round and velvety, keeping very good freshness and a texture and mouthfeel that does not reflect a warmer year at all. This is delicate and juicy with very good intensity of fruit and no room for sweetness or over-ripeness. A triumph over the natural conditions of the year. 10,000 bottles produced. It was bottled the 1st of February 2022.

By Patricio Tapia in 2023 (PT97)
The first edition of Viñedo Chadwick was made in 1999, and since then it has been based on cabernet sauvignon with some petit verdot. It comes from the alluvial soils of the Tocornal Vineyard, the source of other great Chilean wines, such as Almaviva and Don Melchor. In a very hot season, there were two key aspects for maintaining the freshness and the tension that this has been showing since the 2016 vintage. They moved the harvest date forward by an average of two weeks, made very light extractions, and the oak they used was 7% barrels and the rest in foudres. Additionally, they didn’t use petit verdot this year because it didn’t ripen well in the midst of so much heat. This Chadwick is very much in the style of that new school of cabernet from Alto Maipo—a fresh and juicy Andean cabernet rich in red fruits along with some flavors of sweeter fruits, but in general, it’s elegant and well balanced, with fine, sharp tannins. The wine ends with spicy and herbal aromas, and the acidity accompanies through the finish. One to keep for many years.