Antakari Syrah

Chile's Elqui Valley lies next to the Atacama Desert ' an unlikely spot to grow high quality wine grapes. But the climate is right, with a cool downdraught from the Andes and the Pacific's Humboldt Current together ensuring moderate temperatures by day and chilly nights. In addition, snowmelt from the Andes provides all the irrigation water required. Viña Falernia, one of only two wineries in the valley, was built in the late 1990s by Italian cousins Aldo Olivier Gramola and Giorgio Flessati. Elqui produces 'some particularly gutsy Syrah at altitudes of over 2,000m' (The World Atlas of Wine), and Giorgio's is outstanding, with a Trophy winning history. Deep with aromatic blackberry and spice character. Serve with roast lamb or steak pie.