Alta Tierra Sangiovese Syrah 2006

The isolated Elqui Valley lies some 470 kilometres north of Santiago, on the very border of the Atacama Desert. Despite the arid nature of the area, the vineyards enjoy almost perfect growing conditions, with crystal clear, sunny days (indeed, some of the world's most important observatories are stationed up here), cool nights and plenty of snowmelt from the Andes available for irrigation.

Despite being so suited for growing top quality grapes, up until very recently the vineyards were mainly used for the production of Pisco (pronounced as you'd think!) - a local brandy that is used to make the wonderfully refreshing Pisco Sour cocktail. But when our buyers visited the area, they found fledgling wineries, among them the Alta Tierra estate, crafting simply amazing wines ... superbly concentrated reds that are already racking up the top awards both in Chile and abroad.

Beautifully concentrated, this rich, velvety red wine simply bursts with ripe cherry and blackberry fruit flavours, that merge seamlessly with subtle cinnamon and vanilla spice. Smooth and long on the finish, this exceptional red shows just how Chile is "producing wines of real sophistication and value." (Jancis Robinson)