Viña Santa Rita’s Casa Real was the first wine from South America to become a Decanter ‘Wine Legend’, ranking alongside some of the world’s most historic bottles. This year sees another milestone for this iconic Chilean wine with the release of Casa Real 2019, the 30th vintage in its rich and impressive history.
From the best terroir
Santa Rita’s Alto Jahuel estate is nestled in the foothills of the Andes in the famed Maipo Valley, one of the world’s greatest terroirs for Cabernet Sauvignon. It is here that we find some of Santa Rita’s oldest and lowest yielding Cabernet vineyards, Carneros and Población, planted on alluvial, deep gravel terraces.
This site benefits from a cooling evening breeze from the Andes, which regulates temperatures and helps the vines to produce grapes that give the hallmark elegance that Casa Real is famed for.
There has always been an emphasis on ensuring the vineyard speaks for itself and is allowed to shine through in Casa Real, Santa Rita Chairman Baltazar Sánchez explains. ‘The style of Casa Real was defined from its first vintage, and it has retained this identity ever since, independent of the winemaker or team in charge.’
Among the greatest
There have been just three winemakers in the 30 years of Casa Real, with the incumbent Sebastián Labbé at the helm since 2015. Of the extremely promising 2019 vintage he commented: ‘Our Casa Real 2019 reflects the elegance and great depth of this fantastic vintage.’ Casa Real is only made in exceptional years and the very promising 2019 comes hot on the heels of the fabled 2018, which was much lauded by critics and consumers alike.
There has also been another significant and exciting development for Casa Real, as since 2021, the wines have been sold through La Place de Bordeaux.
La Place is universally recognised as the most important platform for fine wine retail globally, and offers unprecedented access to collectors and fine wine lovers. ‘La Place is a system with a lot of tradition and consistency and it has worked that way for many years.’ Baltazar Sánchez comments on the move. ‘Of course, it has been like this since the 17th century and that is precisely its strength.’
This very much mirrors the values and strengths of Casa Real, encompassing history, tradition and consistency.
Casa Real 2019 will be officially released in Bordeaux in September 2022.
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