2003 Altaïr, Cachapoal Valley, Chile, Alto Cachapoal Valley

Altair is named after the brightest star in the sky, namely Eagle.

It was founded as a joint venture between Chilean and French, as there are more in Chile; think of Almaviva Concha y Toro and Baron de Rothschild SA (Mouton-Rothschild).

At the base of Altaïr are San Pedro, one of the largest producers of Chile, and Dassault, the French aircraft constructor.

The latter sought in this way actually mostly an entry in Chile to sell aircrafts, which has been only moderately successful and also led to Dassault's withdrawal from Altaïr in 2007.

Altaïr was designed along the tradition of the best Châteaux in Bordeaux. They make also a second wine named Sideral.

The vineyards are located at 400 to 800 meters. The vines were planted in 1995. The winemaking is very precise and starts with the careful destemming and selection of the harvested grapes. The wines are fermented in large oak vats and mature fifteen months in French barrels (50% new barrels).

This 2003 was still made in collaboration with Dassault, what is clear on the bottle label.