08 October 2012

Coyam 2010


'The New World' is a funny old term, deriving from Imperialistic categorization of the colonised and a general bolstering of Western Superiority.  As you may gather there is a long and complicated history here, but I would rather leave this for a more comprehensive article on 'old' and 'new' worlds. Let us in this smaller context take one of the leading organic producers without the loaded terms we would normally associate with the two tiers of wine making.

'Life is full of opportunities, and Emiliana is one of them ... United by a common passion, we have been able to produce high quality wines with their own identity, and thereby achieve the authentic expression of their terroir through organic and biodynamic agriculture and respecting the true value of the company, which is in caring for its people and the environment'. 


With this Emiliana's self proclaimed philosophy, I could not agree more. Emiliana produce a stunning range of wines that offer some of the best value (and age-worthy wines on the market), not only showing that Chile can produce serious wines, but can also show the best of biodynamic philosophies that extracts the very best from their terroir.

'Coyam' is the word for 'Oak Forest' used by the original inhabitants of Chile, as the purity of fruit is a testament to the quality of the grapes, the careful integration of the oak to the wine, like the oak trees surrounding the vineyards envelope the wines in an extra layer of complexity at one with nature. The blend is an intricate mix of Syrah, Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Mourvedre and Petit Verdot. Each grape complimenting the last.

This wine represents the best of 'both worlds' beating the old world at their beloved game of terroir while producing a fruit forward wine that is both accessible and nuanced. While the Emiliana venture does not have a very long history, I will take quality over quantity when assessing and of course enjoying a wine.









Colour 

Intense purple hues. This is still a baby.


Nose 

Initially a little closed with very dominant oak. After little air gets the intense aromas of baked fruits, blackberries, and some date began to emerge, wrapped in the cedar and rich cinnamon of the oak aging. My experience of this wine was that, when so young it needs a lot of time in the decanter. After decanting I decided to pour it back into the bottle and come back to it the following evening. The wine had completely changed and was definitely showing off its hidden layers. Still a very dark fruited affair, with blackberry and date remaining, but now more plum emerging with a delicious herbal note. The oak had also settled down to a rich cinnamon that further complimented the development of fruit.

Palate 

The palate was much the same, seeming a little overly aggressive and hot at the beginning, a lot of the spice coming from the varietals of Syrah and Carmenere. However once in the decanter for an hour or so it really started to settle down. The more it opened up the smoother the fruits were on the palate, with intense backberry and date emerging, a hint of caramel, with red-currant and pepper on the finish.

A really delicious and layered wine, but it definitely needs decanting. It also would benefit from a good few years in the bottle as our blogger Rob Quinn found out a few years ago when I blind tasted him on the 2006 vintage of Coyam. He was enamoured with the stuff. It was five years old at that point and had really come into its own, each layer seemlessly moving into the next, with velvety tannins and fruit.

Out with the old and in with the new? Not quite, but there certainly is a larger debate to be had here on the qualities of both and the unfortunate hype that goes with the former.

Score (90)

Shane

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