2019 Miguel Torres - Manso de Velasco Viejas Vinas

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Manso de Velasco hails from a vineyard planted in 1902 in Lontué, Curicó. Sixty percent was aged for 18 months in foudres . Dark garnet red in hue. The mild balsamic aromas feature precise redcurrant, menthol and blueberry notes over a fine layer of cedar. Rich and expansive in the mouth, the palate draws its energy from the juicy, finely grained flow, which ends with lingering fruit and oak notes. The old vines ensure a well-balanced wine.

The 2019 Manso de Velasco comes from an old Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard planted approximately in 1902, ungrafted from a massale selection in the commune of Molina in Curicó that has survived though changes and different eras. The wine has 14% alcohol with good freshness (a much lower pH than in past years). It's balsamic, ripe and quite powerful, with abundant fine-grained tannins, the effect of an élevage in oak barrels and foudres; this is the first year they started using them (for maybe 60% of the volume), and in the following years, they used more. I saw it in the context of a mini vertical of 1995 and 2010, and I could see the stylistic changes through the years (decades!). They defined the different eras: until 1996 with lowish alcohol and less oak; between 2000 and 2014 with more ripeness, extraction and more oak; and then 2015, 2016 and 2017 when only 2017 was produced (and sold exclusively in China) and a transition year; and a new era that starts in 2018. This 2019 is paler, more elegant with spicy and meaty notes; they want to combine good ripeness and power with freshness, soft tannins and balance in general. They do not want to go from one extreme to the other, moving to too light wines. This was not bled; the wine is what it is, with a mixture of herbs and fruit, a balanced mouthfeel with fine-grained tannins and a clean and long finish. 13,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2022. This should evolve and develop nuance and further complexity in bottle.