Wine Article

2010 Undurraga Pinot Noir T.H. [Terroir Hunter] Leyda Valley

Last edited on 9/14/2012 by alanh13
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From the producer

Winemaking
The grapes were carefully transported and rigorously sorted at the winery, ensuring that only ripe and healthy berries went into the destemmer. All unripe, overexposed, or dehydrated berries were removed. After destemming, the grapes underwent a cold whole berry (without being crushed) maceration under anaerobic conditions for 7 days. During this time, an enzymatic colour extraction and a preliminary fermentation inside the berry occur, that deter- mine a special “upfront fruit” aromatic profile in the wine. After this, the main fermentation took place at 27oC-28oC for 10 days with manual “pigeage” three times a day. The wine was left over its lees and skins for an additional 5 days to further its structure. It was then racked into French oak barrels, from selected burgundian barrel producers, 20% of them new, where it underwent malolactic fermentation and was aged for 10 months.

Vineyard
Grapes were sourced from a selected 2.97-hectare plot in the Leyda Valley, the well-known southern sub-region of San Antonio, 14 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean. Cooled by the South Pacific breezes and coastal summer fog that often lasts until midday, the Leyda Valley climate extends the growing season, as its average summer maximum temperatures rarely exceed 25°C, ensuring slow ripening and the development of intense, fresh flavours and aromas, together with lower potential alcohol content. Annual rainfall is around 400 mm.
Located to the west of the coastal mountain range, the soils of the Leyda Valley developed directly from the granite rock on the coastal batholith formed 200 million years ago during the Jurassic period. The valley has gently rolling hills, exposing different areas to varying levels of sunlight and drainage profiles.
The soil of this plot has a fine texture. The top layer is shallow loamy clay with poor fertility, followed by a sedimentary “cracked” clay profile. The subsoil is decomposed granite rock with a diverse mineral structure.
For this wine, we selected a small plot with 60% low-yielding Dijon 115 clone vines and 40% Davis 1 clone vines, planted on their own roots, on a west-facing slope exposed to the wind. They were carefully managed to protect the clusters from direct sunlight, thus enhancing the freshness and preserving the expression and character of the terroir. The yield was 28 hectolitres per hectare.

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