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 Vina 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 Munoz, were dreaming of future projects to do together. Gonzalo was studying in Spain and Sven was working during the vintage in different wine region around the world. The met at the time near Narbonne, in the south of France at a tasting of Mediterranean style Syrah matched with lamb in 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, the 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 Marchique area in the Western end of the Colchaqua Valley that met the soil and climate requirements need to fulfill their dream. The vineyards are situated in the 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 that may change every year depending on the vintage. They are planted on the "G" and "I" blocks both of which face south, as opposed the general southwest exposure of their other vineyards. This results in a slightly cooler microclimate that produces very peppery cool climate aromatics, but with an almost Cabernet-like structure.
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 Vina Santa Carolina operation to focus on his own project which produces a red wine under the Polkura label.