Opaque. Terrific scent of cassis. Very ripe, vivid black fruit, marked by black pepper, supported by fine, silky tannins.  Huge fruit but light and fine at the same time. Great potential. Late 2010-2017

Product Code: ANT107

Alvaro Espinoza at Antiyal is a living legend - the single best known Chilean winemaker: at Carmen he was the first in Chile to knowingly bottle a pure Carmenère; he is consultant to numerous top Chilean wineries, including Viñedos Organicos Emiliana above; a champion of organic and bio-dynamic viticulture; and recipient of numerous awards and recognition internationally. Despite this fame he’s an amazingly laid-back guy: he was pouring bottles of his own wines at his home in Alto Jahuel to a group from Santiago when I arrived.  I was therefore fortunate to be able to taste his 1998 Antiyal, his first vintage, still young and vital, showing rich, autumnal, brambly fruit with coffee and savoury accents.

Alvaro’s production is tiny, made from vineyards in Isla de Maipo owned by himself and his wife Marina Ashton, farmed bio-dynamically. (I was able to admire his llamas, which contribute manure to the plots). Kuyen (which is “Moon” translated from the language of the Mapuche, the native inhabitants of Chile) is a blend of about half Syrah, a third Cabernet Sauvignon with Carmenère, given a year in barrel. There’s only about 600 cases of Antiyal (“Sons of the Sun”) each vintage, 52% Carmenère, 25% Syrah and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon: this is one of Chile’s top blends, and superb in the great 2007 vintage.