Emiliana Gê 2019, Colchagua Valley DO, Chile, Biodynamic

Gê is the flagship red of Emiliana, grown on the Los Robles estate at Lo Moscoso in Chile’s Colchagua Valley. The ungrafted vines sit on the foothills of a mountain outcrop and are farmed biodynamically, with Demeter certification. The blend is built around Carmenère, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. After careful hand sorting the grapes undergo a cold soak, ferment spontaneously with native yeasts and spend a long time on their skins before malolactic fermentation and around 16 months’ ageing in French oak barrels.

Emiliana Gê is a deep, layered wine. The nose opens with wild herbs such as rosemary and lavender before black plum, blueberry and blackberry come through, framed by spice, dark chocolate, coffee and black pepper. The palate is concentrated and generous, with ripe dark fruit, polished, elegant tannins and lively acidity carrying a long, complex finish.

This is a wine for special occasions: serve it with slow-roast lamb, beef Wellington, venison or a well-aged hard cheese. Open it an hour or so ahead, or decant, and serve at 16–18°C. It is approachable in its youth but has the structure to develop in bottle for well over a decade.

Emiliana is one of the great pioneers of organic and biodynamic winemaking in South America. Backed by Chile’s Guilisasti family, the winery committed to a less interventionist path in 1998 and was certified organic by 2001. Today it farms around 1,000 hectares under vine across Chile, and its flagship Los Robles estate in the Colchagua Valley is run as a living farm, with a native oak forest, grazing animals and home-made compost all playing their part. Emiliana was the first winery in Chile to earn Regenerative Organic Certification and is also a certified B Corp. Under winemaker Noelia Orts, the range runs from bright, everyday varietals to the celebrated Coyam and the biodynamic Gê, both grown at Los Robles.