Sven Bruchfeld has gone from big to small, and that’s just the way he wants it. A few years back, Bruchfeld left his job as winemaker at Chile’s large Viña Santa Carolina operation to focus on his own project, which produces a red wine under the Polkura label.The passion for Syrah is the concept that best defines the nature of Polkura. The journey starts in 1998, when winemaker Sven Bruchfeld along with his friend and university buddy Gonzalo Muñoz, were dreaming of future projects to do together. Gonzalo was studying in Spain and Sven was working during vintage in different wine regions around the world. They met at that time near Narbonne, in the south of France at a tasting of a Mediterranean style Syrah in one of the local wineries matched with a tasty lamb and mint sauce. That defined this grape variety as the one to be the base for their future wine endeavor.
Once both were back in Chile, they set out to find the best place to develop a vineyard in order to maximize the grape quality and therefore the wine they had in mind. In 2002 they found a neglected property in the Marchigüe area -the Western end of the Colchagua Valley that met the soil and climate requirements needed to fulfill their dream. The vineyards are situated in a semi arid climate but cooled by its proximity to the coast a few miles away.
The main Polkura red is a blend of primarily Syrah, along with a mix of other grapes including Malbec, Tempranillo, Grenache, and Viognier and may change every year depending on the vintage. They are planted on the "G" and "I" blocks both of which face south, as opposed to the general southwest exposure of his other vineyards. This results in a slightly cooler microclimate that produces "very peppery, cool-climate aromatics, but with an almost Cabernet-like structure.
Both Polkura Syrah and the "G&I' Block Syrah have been well received with ratings in the 90s from the Wine Spectator and Robert Parker.
