Vineyard and winemaking
Cuvée El Camino comes from Viña Dagaz's Pumanque vineyard in the coastal sector of Colchagua, 34 kilometres from the Pacific and 238 metres above sea level. Cabernet Sauvignon makes up 70% of the blend, with 30% Carménère, grown on rolling slopes of decomposed granite rich in quartz.
The grapes are hand-harvested and selected before a four-day cold soak at 8°C. Fermentation lasts around three weeks, followed by a further ten days of maceration, and the wine then matures for ten months in used French oak so that spice and texture develop without covering the fruit or mineral character.
Tasting notes
Appearance
Deep ruby red with vivid violet reflections.
Nose
Blackcurrant and blackberry sit alongside raspberry and black cherry, with cedar, graphite, bay leaf and a discreet note of sweet spice.
Palate
Generous but controlled, with Cabernet Sauvignon providing dark fruit and firm structure while Carménère adds plum, savoury herbs and softness through the middle. Fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity carry a mineral, lightly peppered finish.
Food pairing
Try it with grilled bavette steak and chimichurri, paprika-spiced pork chops, slow-cooked beef brisket or black-bean and roasted pepper chilli. Its combination of cassis, herbs and gentle oak also works well with mature Lancashire cheese.
Background story
Winemaker Marco Puyo and Patricio Gómez-Barris established Viña Dagaz in 2015 to explore the granitic soils of Pumanque. The name comes from a rune associated with daybreak and a new path, reflecting the decision to build a project around a less familiar, strongly coastal side of Colchagua.
Puyo drew inspiration from the granitic wine regions of Europe, including the northern Rhône, Galicia and Rioja, but the result is firmly Chilean. Cuvée El Camino is the accessible expression of that idea, combining familiar Bordeaux varieties with the freshness and mineral definition of its Pumanque origin.
