Antakari Syrah 2019

One of only two wineries in the remarkable Elqui Valley, Viña Falernia was built in the 1990s by Italian cousins Aldo Olivier Gramola and Giorgio Flessati. They won a Trophy for Syrah in their first vintage, astounding critics and putting the valley on the wine map. The region lies next to the Atacama Desert, a seemingly unlikely spot to grow top quality wine grapes. But the climate is ideal for its high altitude vineyards – a cool downdraught from the Andes and the Pacific’s Humboldt Current together ensure moderate temperatures by day and chilly nights, while snowmelt from the Andes provides the irrigation water. Deep and juicy with aromatic blackberries and spice, this red works with sausages, steak and kidney pie or veggie lasagne.