VIÑA VIK | Milla Cala | Millahue | 2017
cabernet sauvignon | carmenère | merlot | cabernet franc | syrah

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Alexander Vik had a dream: to create the best wine in the World. To turn vision into reality, the research team took more than 4000 soil samples and investigated all the elements of terroir – they performed soil analyses, hydric flows, thermal amplitude, geographic orientation and the region’s unusual wind conditions. The vineyard’s location was selected only after two years of exhaustive scientific research, after they identified the ideal terroir from which to grow the finest grapes – the Millahue Valley of Chile. The next step was the mapping of the best plots for planting – first, for each plot the research team mapped the rootstocks, then the grape varieties, then the clones of each variety, after all, if you dream to make the best wine in the world, you can not leave anything to chance.

Today we are going to review a very intriguing and in a way even unique wine blend from Chile – Milla Cala Millahue 2017 by Viña Vik. This wine is a Bordeaux-style blend of 5 grape varieties: cabernet sauvignon (62%), cabernet franc (15%), carmenère (13%), merlot (6%) and syrah (4%), where cabernet sauvignon forms the main body and flavour profile, cabernet franc enhances the wine’s structure, carmenère brings on local terroir notes to the foreground, merlot adds up-front richness and suppleness on the palate, while syrah deepens the color and adds more longevity to the blend. The wine’s name (Milla Cala) is a connection between past and present, where ‘Milla‘ means gold in mapudungun dialect, while ‘Cala‘ is the spanish translation of Vik. The grapes for this particular wine are sourced from the estate’s vineyards that are planted on deep and porous decomposed granitic soils of the Millahue Valley in Cachapoal Valley. The final blend has been aged for 20 months in french oak barrels and then 3 more years before it was deemed ready for release on the market. That said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: deep and noble ruby color
clarity: hazy garnet shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: pronounced & earthy
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: blackcurrant | aronia berry | blackberry | black cherry
fruit character: ripe & overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: herbal | spice | oak | savory | earthy | other
__herbal: mint | eucalyptus | capsicum
__spice: peppercorn | anise | tonka seeds
__oak: sun-dried oak | tobacco | hints of vanilla
__savory: black olive | horse saddle | leather | iron
__earthy: slate | flint | graphite | black soil | granite 
primary layer: fruity-savory

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: medium+
alcohol: high
tannin: medium+
__grip: fine
balance: good
__dominant: alcohol
body: round | medium

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: spice & earth
finish: long
aftertaste: appealingly-seedy

//Scoring
VIÑA VIK | Milla Cala | Millahue | 2017
variety: cabernet sauvignon | carmenère | merlot | cabernet franc | syrah
country: Chile
region: Cachapoal | Millahue
rating: 94.2

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | drink now or age for 3 to 5 more years
verdict: great | a must try wine

//Prediction
predicted RP rating: 91

//RP Rating
actual RP rating: 92

//All Ratings
The critics’ rating distribution: 93

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This is definitely a great wine of Chile and, with a total of 94.2 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a genuine holistic wine blend: velvety, round and elegant – a wine with a rich nose and a voluptuous palate. The wine is still in its development phase, but quite close to the peak of its form, therefore we would recommend to drink it sooner rather than later, preferably within the next 3 to 5 years more years, as it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of ripe black fruits and nuanced earthy notes in the foreground, followed by some very delicate, savory hints in the background, with a subtle, spicy-oaky layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers crisp acidity, ripe and fine-grained tannins and a touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves nicely into a appealingly-seedy aftertaste. All in all, this is a very noble, complex and harmonious Bordeaux-styled blend that is mixing power with finesse. We would suggest to pair it with delicate, naturally-flavoured meats, like for example Tournedos Rossini or peppercorn-crusted filet mignon with wild mushrooms and cognac cream. Enjoy!

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© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.