1865 Prelusion - Flagship Chilean wine wins platinum at DWWA

1865’s new flagship wine, Prelusion 2019, created by Andrea Calderón, became the first Chilean wine in its class to win a platinum medal with its first vintage at the recent Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), earning an impressive score of 97 points.

Tradition and a profound sense of place

Named after the year that the Viña San Pedro winery was founded, 158 years ago, in the Curicó Valley, 1865 celebrates a landmark event in the history of Chilean viticulture; the iconic site would go on to produce some of Chile’s most distinguished wines.

It was in 1997, as a tribute to the winery’s rich heritage, that the 1865 range was launched. It represents a selection of exceptional wines that embody Viña San Pedro’s ongoing quest to achieve just the right balance for each variety produced in Chile’s most celebrated valleys. These important regions include Maipo, Colchagua, Leyda, Elqui, Limarí and Cachapoal, as well as the Uco Valley in Argentina.

Guided by the supremely talented oenologist Andrea Calderón, the wines of 1865 are the fruit of more than a century and a half of winemaking experience, living testimony to the development and potential of Chilean viticulture.

‘When 1865 was created, it marked the beginning of a quest to find out which of the valleys of Chile produce the best expression of each variety. On our journey, we made many exceptional wines. Today, we’ve drawn on everything we’ve learned over the past two decades to produce our first flagship wine: 1865 Prelusion, a dream we’ve been working to make a reality for years,’ says Calderón.

A new Chilean icon

To develop 1865 Prelusion 2019, Calderón returned to the brand’s roots in central Chile, opting for grapes from the Maipo Andes Valley. ‘This is where it all began, these are our origins and we felt that it had to be the terroir where our flagship wine would be born,’ explains Calderón

‘20 years working in the Maipo Andes revealed new discoveries and helped us to envisage the ideal qualities for 1865 Prelusion. The influence of the Andes regulates the climate, ensuring cool nights and warm days; ideal ripening conditions for red varieties. Meanwhile, the Maipo River provides fine and stony sedimentary soils with excellent drainage. All this is the perfect environment in which to produce premium wines,’ the winemaker continues.

1865 Prelusion 2019 is a Bordeaux Blend made up of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot, aged for 20 months in French oak barrels (half of which are new and the other half second and third use).

Platinum winner

Entered for tasting at the 2023 edition of the DWWA, 1865 Prelusion 2019 earned a score of 97 points, winning a Platinum medal. The tasters described it as having ‘plenty of lavish red and black fruit with creamy vanilla notes, and savoury undertones of tobacco leaf. Tense and firm tannins, well-resolved, with a velvety texture. Powerful and unctuous, full-bodied, with a persistent warm finish.’

‘The word that best defines 1865 Prelusion 2019 is elegance, especially in terms of its tannic structure and the harmony between the oak and the fruit,’ Calderón concludes with pride. The 1865 Prelusion 2019 has certainly given the winemaker lots to be proud of and she has set the bar high with this first vintage.