Marques de Casa Concha changes Merlot DO

Chilean winemaker Marcelo Papa has changed the source DO of its Merlot for Concha Y Toro’s premium Marques de Casa Concha range to Maule as part of a continued effort to produce fresher, more terroir-driven wines.

The San Clemente vineyard in Maule DO, in the Maule Valley

Starting with the newly released 2013 vintage, Marques de Casa Concha has moved from its old appellation of Peumo, Cachapoal Valley, in favour of the San Clemente Vineyard, further south in the DO of Maule in the Maule Valley.

The change follows Papa’s efforts to create increasingly fresh wines that are more expressive of their terroir. This, says Pape, is possible in the Maule Valley, in particular San Clemente, due to its positioning at the foot of the Andes mountains.

“Switching from Peumo, which is located between the two mountain ranges, to Maule, at the foot of the Andes where Merlot ripens more slowly, has been a very positive move”, said winemaker Marcelo Papa. “The varietal is very comfortable there, revealing great expression of terroir.”

The change of its DO for Merlot follows Papa’s experimentation with Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, which has seen a reduction in new oak and malolactic to better express Chile’s terroir.

With regards to Cabernet Sauvignon, Papa now picks earlier and uses 5,000-litre untoasted Italian botti for ageing, commonly used to age Barolo and Barbaresco, as part of an effort to return to the style of wines Concha y Toro was making in the ‘70s – fresher and with less alcohol.

For the first time, Papa has introduced a percentage of botti usage for Marques de Casa Concha’s Merlot to achieve more “pronounced fruit expression”. The soils of the Maule produce rustic tannins so for the first time Papa decided to add 2% of Carmenère to the blend which, according to Papa, contributes to giving the wine a soft, velvety texture.