Cordillera Carmenere
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2028
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled pork chops, roasted lamb with herbs, beef empanadas
✨ Technical Specifications
Miguel Torres Chile was a trailblazer in the Chilean wine revolution, establishing roots in the country in 1979. The Cordillera series is designed to showcase the premier terroirs of Chile, with this Carmenere sourced from the stony, clay-rich soils of the Cachapoal Valley. Carmenere itself carries a legendary history; once a key blending grape in Bordeaux, it was wiped out by phylloxera in Europe only to be rediscovered in Chile in 1994, where it had been mistaken for Merlot for decades. Miguel Torres crafts this wine to highlight the grape's dramatic resurrection, utilizing careful canopy management to ensure full phenolic ripeness and aging the wine in French oak barrels to soften its tannins and integrate notes of black pepper, roasted bell pepper, and dark plums.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1870 by brothers Jaime and Miguel Torres Vendrell, Familia Torres stands as one of Spain's most historically influential and forward-thinking wine dynasties. Spanning prime estates across Catalonia (Penedès, Conca de Barberà, Priorat, and Costers del Segre) as well as Rías Baixas and Ribera del Duero, the house negotiates a mosaic of terroirs—from maritime granitic soils in Galicia to high-elevation calcareous clay and slate in northeastern Spain. Viticulturally celebrated for pioneering the Torres & Earth climate program, co-founding International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), and advancing regenerative farming, the estate also champions the revival of pre-phylloxera ancestral varieties like Forcada. Vinification balances precise temperature control, native yeasts, and specialized aging vessels ranging from granite vats to traditional oak casks. Benchmarks such as Pazo Torre Penelas Blanco Granito, Sons de Prades, Forcada, and Esplendor Vardon Kennett reflect an unwavering commitment to site specificity, structural clarity, and sustainable viticultural excellence.
🍇 Grapes
Carmenere
🍷 ABV
14% - 14.5%