Palo Alto Reserva is a blend of three red grapes. The Carmenere grapes come from the Lourdes vineyard; a dry pocket of land surrounded by high hills that is bathed in hot summer sunshine every day in the run up to the harvest. In the winter, it is very cold and it seldom rains.

Hector Urzua explains, “Carmenere loves the sun and is always the last grape variety to be harvested. It must stay on the vine for as long as possible to develop its delicious ripe plum and blackberry flavours. If we picked it too early, you would be able to smell green peppers, which is a character that we want to avoid.”

During the ripening period, the temperatures can reach 38ºC in the shade. These maximum temperatures may last for several hours each day, so the vines need to be irrigated very carefully. It’s a fine balancing act. Too much water and the grapes will lose concentration and flavour. Too little water and the grapes will shrivel and turn into raisins! At night, the temperature drops by around 20ºC. These cool night time temperatures are perfect for the ripening grapes, preserving their natural acidity which is very important for the finished wine.