Odfjell Aliara

Intro to Odfjell Aliara –

Odfjell Aliara is a blend of grape varieties that produce an intense yet elegant wine with aromas of hazelnuts and dried fruits with a rich complex flavour of dark fruit and coffee that linger.

Full tasting note and wine making –

Odfjell Aliara has a concentrated deep violet colour and the nose is attractive and intense with a range of aromas from the different varieties in the blend, including dry fruit aromas such as hazelnuts, dates and dried figs, floral notes of jasmine and roses and, finally, hints of chocolate. On the palate it is sophisticated and intense with juicy dried fruits with notes of chocolate, coffee and tobacco leaves. The finish is long with ripe and velvety tannins.

The grapes come from quality vineyards and vines aged twenty to eighty years old from Cauquenes, the Lontué Valley, the Maule Valley and the Colchagua Valley. There is selective pruning thorughout the growing season with elimination of shoots during spring, removal of interior leaves after set and three selections of the best grape clusters, the first after set, the second on veraison and the last one before harvest. The grapes were hand-picked.

It is a blend of Carignan, Malbec, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon and they are hand-picked and put into 15 kg trays and 400kg bins. The bunches are destemmed and the whole berries had five to six days of cold maceration at 14°C prior to fermentation followed by fifteen days of maceration at 25ºC after fermentation. Selected yeasts were used during the fermentation which took place in small tanks from 1,000 Lts (T bins) to 10,000 Lts.  Malolactic fermentation was allowed to take place spontaneously in barrels to soften the acidity. Aging takes place in 100% new  oak French oak barrels for 18 months.

The producer –

Over twenty five years ago, Dan Odfjell the Norwegian Armador (ship owner) fell in love with a small corner of the Maipo Valley. Serendipity would later show that he had found land in Chile’s premium red wine producing valley, where vitis vinifera has been cultivated for 400 years. While most of the other top producers in Chile are working with relatively young vines, Odfjell have forged an unique reputation based on rediscovering the forgotten wealth of Chile’s winemaking past. At the time this was considered a very eccentric move but now the interest in these old sites has grown exponentially, in no small part thanks to Odfjell. Crafting wines that fully maximise the great potential of the region, this year having joined the new association of Vignadores de Carignan, Odfjell are committed to sustainable agriculture and green winemaking practices, the vineyards are all cultivated organically and biodynamically and are working towards certification.

Drink with –

Odfjell Aliara is great with meats with sauces, chocolate desserts (cakes, mousse) and dark chocolate.