Escudo Rojo Syrah Reserva
WHY WE LOVE IT
- This wine comes from “Valle del Maipo”, 30km south of Santiago. Nestling at the foot of the Andes Mountains, it is a valley with a long winegrowing tradition which offers some of the best conditions for cultivating Syrah.
- Baron Philippe de Rothschild Maipo Chile’s winemakers have chosen “Valle del Maipo” vineyards for their temperate climate and their soil, poor in alluvial deposits and rich in pebbles, ideal for expressing the power, elegance and minerality of the wines.
- The combination of summer heat with the influence of the Andes produces a marked day/night temperature differential highly favorable to preservation of the fruit.
Varietal Composition: 100% Syrah
Elaboration: The grapes are hand-picked then brought to the Baron Philippe de Rothschild Maipo Chile bodega, in the heart of the Maipo Valley. Combining wood and steel in a distinctive architectural style, the bodega has state-of-the-art equipment that also respects the great winemaking traditions. Escudo Rojo Syrah is vinified in the Bordeaux manner, favoring extraction of the fruit and a supple, well-balanced tannic structure. The wine is matured in one-year-old oak barrels for six to eight months before bottling. 10% new oak and 90% 1-2 year old oak barrels.
Tasting Notes: The nose opens on subtle notes of black fruit such as blackberry and blackcurrant, followed on airing by delicate touches of oak and black pepper. The round and full attack displays the expressive black fruit notes found on the nose. The tannic structure typical of Syrah lends attractive body and heft to the mid-palate, sustained by elegant notes of black and grey pepper, followed by a beautifully long finish distinguished by a remarkable return of fruit flavors and refined toasted notes.
PRESS
2018 – 93 James Suckling
2019 – 94 James Suckling
2021 – 91 James Suckling
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Located at Buin-Maipo, 45 kilometers south of Santiago in the famous Maipo Valley, the Baron Philippe de Rothschild Maipo Chile bodega stands in its own 63-hectare (156-acre) vineyard. The wines are made, matured, bottled and packaged at the estate under the supervision of a French winemaker and under the control of an in-house laboratory. For each of its wines, the winery selects the best parcels in Chile’s most highly reputed valleys in order to make wines which consistently combine refinement and character. Regular sources of supply and constant quality are also guaranteed by long-term contracts with partner winegrowers, especially further south, in the Rapel Valley. A rigorous parcel selection procedure has been created, with each parcel being tested for three years in order to ensure that the grapes are of sufficiently high quality to be used to make Escudo Rojo.