Here we have Chile’s Santa Ema winery telling us about their history and the wines they will be pouring at the Vancouver International Wine Festival. Enjoy.
About Santa Ema
With over 60 years of professional experience, Santa Ema are pioneers in the Maipo Valley where they are always searching for the best expressions of terroir, from the mountains to the coast.
Santa Ema’s founding Pavone family trace their history in Chile back to 1917 when they first came to the region as grape farmers. Nearly 100 years and four generations of hands-on experience gives Santa Ema a deep understanding of the Maipo Valley’s unique terroir.
The family has established a 500-acre viticultural ‘path’ from the Andes Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, featuring the best terroir from each zone of Maipo: Alta, Medio and Costa (Leyda). Extensive and selective vineyard ownership allows for creativity and innovation in the vineyards and winery, while guaranteeing quality control. The result is a collection of generous, elegant, regionally distinct wines that overdeliver.
The portfolio commences with the excellent value offering, Select Terroir Reserva, which offers excellent fruit concentration, purity of its origin and unmistakable varietal typicity. The next tier up is Santa Ema’s Reserva/Gran Reserva range. This is the winery’s most traditional and best-known collection. Consistently awarded with medals and scores, including a coveted spot on the Wine Spectator Top 100. Perfect harmony and complexity are achieved through delicate barrel aging plus bottle aging. The Amplus line plays on the Latin word for ‘important, sophisticated, distinguished and honorable’. Amplus wines represent the union of tradition and modernity. These are exciting wines with tremendous complexity and elegance.
The Wines We Will Feature at the International Festival Tasting Room
Santa Ema Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc, Leyda Valley 2022 – A classic of Santa Ema. “A generous body of ripe white fruit along with intense acidity that recalls limes, this moves through the mouth refreshing everything in its path. It’s a big white, a sauvignon for ceviche, but it’s also ideal for quenching thirst. It comes from vineyards near the coast of the Leyda Valley, in the hills of the Coastal Range.” (Patricio Tapia review)
Santa Ema Gran Reserva Syrah, Leyda Valley 2020 – Santa Ema Gran Reserva represents the union of tradition and modernity in wines of great complexity and elegance. A line that is based on tradition, recognition and consistency. Santa Ema Gran Reserva Syrah has a deep ruby red color with violet touches. Its aromas are very expressive and vibrant with notes of blackberries and acid sour cherries intermingled with notes of spices, black olives and flowers. Its palate is balanced, of good concentration and large volume in the mouth with a long and juicy fruit finish. Ideal for pairing with spicy stews, delicatessen, game meat and ripe cheeses.
Santa Ema Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley 2020 – Santa Ema Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon has a deep purplish ruby red color. Its aromas are very elegant and sophisticated, and reflect black fruit such as cherries and plums that mix with certain touches of tobacco and roasted coffee. Its palate is well rounded and structured with ripe and silky tannins, ideal for pairing grilled meats, stews and ripe cheeses.
Santa Ema Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Alto 2017 – Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon belongs to the Viña Santa Ema Premium wine line. Vines of origin, complex and sophisticated that come from the best terroirs in Chile. Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon has a deep deep deep deep red color with aromas of black fruits, such as blueberries, plums and blackberries with hints of bitter chocolate. Its palate is intense; a wine of great concentration with mature, firm tannins and with a persistent fruit finish.
Santa Ema Catalina, Maipo Alto 2018 – This intense and complex blend reveals the typicity of the emblematic varieties of Chile, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere, together with the elegance and silkiness of Cabernet Franc. A unique blend made with the 20 best barrels of red wine at the winery. Just 15,000 bottles made annually. Aged 15 months in first-use French oak barrels. After the final blend, it spends 5 additional months in barrels.
