Are you ready to explore
this centenary Park?
Are you ready to explore
this centenary Park?
In 1985, Santa Rita sought to create the best wine possible, using grapes from the vineyards of Alto Jahuel, Maipo Alto, a wine that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the best vintages from around the world. Four years later, Santa Rita’s icon wine was born: Casa Real Reserva Especial. This wine’s label is connected to the historical heritage of the winery. It shows an engraving of the old manor house of its founder, Domingo Fernández Concha, which is now the boutique Hotel Casa Real. This emblematic building has endured through 140 years of history.
In 2013, Casa Real Reserva Especial received one of the most important accolades in the world: the prestigious British magazine, Decanter, named it as one of its Wine Legends for its 1989 vintage, the first South American wine to achieve such recognition. Then, in 2021, Casa Real announced its inclusion in the prestigious Place de Bordeaux, the world’s most exclusive distribution network for fine wine.
Casa Real Reserva Especial’s origins lie in the old plot of Carneros Viejos, which was planted in the 1970s using a masal selection of Cabernet Sauvignon. The best vines have been selected for decades through vineyard and wine analysis, always searching for balance and lower yields to safeguard its essence. The vineyard has been divided into different small blocks over time, each of which holds the unique characteristics that are essential in creating the final blend.
Alto Jahuel is located at the foothills of the Andes Mountains, sitting 565 meters above sea level and 30 kilometers to the south of Chile’s capital, Santiago. The vineyards are located upon Quaternary alluvial deposits and the first vines were planted here in the mid-1600s. Since the beginning, Cabernet Sauvignon has been the main variety planted in this area.
The Mediterranean climate of Alto Jahuel is characterized by its long dry season. Rainfall is mainly concentrated in the winter months with an average annual precipitation of 380 mm. Spring is cool and dry, while the summers are hot with temperatures reaching above 30ºC. The influence of the Andes Mountains creates dramatic thermal oscillation between day and night. Temperatures start to lower at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, which allows the grapes to mature gradually with a good concentration of fruit and the correct level of tannins.
The soils of the Carneros Viejos block are composed of old alluvial deposits of the Maipo River. These soils are fine-grained in the upper layer with coarse-grained alluvial deposits in the subsoil; rounded stones and gravels that are mixed in a sandy matrix.
This ensures great drainage, although the amount of clay in the subsoil also plays an important role in water retention and the unique character of Casa Real Reserva Especial.
Casa Real Reserva Especial is made only in exceptional harvest years. It is a wine of great concentration and elegance. Its aromas are dominated by cassis, cherry and graphite, the sweet mid-palate reflects its origin with silky, firm tannins that are gently held in the mouth for a long, lingering finish.
