Cousino Macul Dama de Plata Cabernet

Founded in 1856, Cousiño-Macul is the only 19th century winery in Chile that remains in the hands of the original founding family. All Cousiño-Macul reserve wines are estate grown, vinted and bottled. After seven generations and over 150 years, Cousiño-Macul’s mission rings clear — to produce world-class wines that are unmistakably Chilean, carrying the distinctive character of the Maipo Valley.

All Cousiño-Macul wines are made entirely with grapes sourced from its two estates located in the Maipo Valley. Both the Macul estate in the southeast of Santiago and the estate in Buin are part of the subregion known as Alto Maipo. The Alto Maipo is appropriately named due to high altitude orientation at the foot of the Andes Mountains. As the snow melts in the spring and summer, the Andes provide an ample source of pure, fresh water for vineyard irrigation. The soil is especially suited for the production of high-quality grapes: shallow, sandy-silky topsoil with rough stone below. All vines are planted on original root systems. Vines for new plantations come from massal selections carried out in the nurseries at Macul over a period of 10 years. This selection has allowed the preservation of genetic material of great value, originally brought to Chile by Luis Cousiño in 1860, including Cabernet and Merlot varieties from Pauillac in Haut-Medoc, and Sauvignon Gris from Martillac in Graves.

A graduate of the Pontifical University, Rosario Palma Corralles has held several esteemed positions at renowned wineries around the world. After studying agronomy with a specialty in Enology, Rosario joined the Cousino-Macul team early in her career from 2003-2004. She also worked the alternate 30-04 season in Oakville, for Kendall Jackson. She then went on to work for Borsao, as well as various wine regions in Spain, Italy, France and Germany.

Rosario came back to the winery in 2012 and in late 2018 succeeded Gabriel Mustakis as the Head Winemaker. This wine honors the female founder of the winery and the current female winemaker!

Wine Production

100% of this wine comes from a specific vineyard in Buin, specially managed and dedicated to the best Cabernet Sauvignon of this Estate.  The Malbec and Syrah come from small blocks of varieties.  After a manual harvest it passes through a strict selection inside the cellar, a maceration at low temperature (44.6 F) that takes one week then the fermentation is started at an average temperature of 77 F.  This process takes 12 days and is finished with a post-fermentative maceration for greater extraction of color and aromas for two weeks.  After maceration, 100% of this wine is transfered to second use French Oak barrels, where is ages for 12 months while it goes through a full malolactic fermentation.  After this period in barrels, it is transfered to stainless steel tanks for stabilization and it is finally bottled.

Varietal composition: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, 5% Syrah

Tasting Notes

Of an elegant violet color and a complex aroma composition, Dama de Plata has a fruity nose, filled with cherries, plums and spices.  In mouth you will find elegant and firm tannins.  This wine is a medium bodied wine, with an excellent balance between fruit and oak.

Food Pairing

Due to its varietal characteristics, this wine is perfect for filet mignon with grilled vegetables, beef Wellington accompanied with twice baked potatoes, moussaka and risotto trifolati.