Rapel Valley is a large wine-producing region in Chile's Central Valley. Made up of the Colchagua and Cachapoal valleys, the area produces roughly a quarter of all Chilean wine. The Warm, Dry region makes a wide range of wine styles, ranging from everyday wines to some of Chile's most expensive and prestigious offerings.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Carmenère are the most important grape varieties planted here.
In general terms, Rapel Valley wines are produced primarily from red varieties, but there are some plantings of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Plantings of Malbec are also on the rise, presumably seeking the success enjoyed by this variety in Mendoza, just the other side of the Andes.
Rapel Valley runs directly South for 60 miles (100km) from the edges of Maipo Valley to the furthest edge of the Colchagua province. Flanked on both sides by mountain ranges – the Andes and the Coastal Range – Rapel Valley is sheltered from the cold influences of the Pacific Ocean.
The region takes its name from the Rapel River, a confluence of the Tinguiririca and the Cachapoal, whose courses divide the valley into two sub-regions, Colchagua Valley in the south and Cachapoal Valley in the North. As is the case in most Chilean wine regions, the river is a vital resource, bringing fresh, mineral-rich meltwater down from the upper Andes.
Rapel Valley's two sub-regions are quite distinct from each other. In Cachapoal Valley, the best vineyards can be found primarily in the east, where the Andean foothills provide a well-drained, sheltered location for viticulture.
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
pink wines from the region of Rapel Valley go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or pork such as recipes of sauté of lamb with curry, sauté of lamb or beef bourguignon with cookéo.
On the nose in the region of Rapel Valley often reveals types of flavors of strawberries, raspberry or tree fruit and sometimes also flavors of red fruit, cherry or grapefruit. In the mouth in the region of Rapel Valley is a with a nice freshness.
