De Martino, 'Alto de Piedras' Single-Vineyard Carmenere, 2021

This demonstrates how delicious Carmenere can be when it’s grown in the right place, carefully-tended and picked fully ripe. It’s a dusky-deep colour and full of juicy, ripe-yet-fresh blackcurrant character, with a smoky seasoning. Euphonious, super-supple and abounding in richness, this beautifully-proportioned wine is one of the finest Carmeneres. From a single site, with gravel-rich soils on old terraces of the Maipo river, close to De Martino’s home at Isla de Maipo, Alto de Piedras shows the grand potential of the variety, combining the succulence of Merlot with the body of Cabernet Sauvignon.