Casa Silva ‘Romano’ Cesar Noir is a silky, fresh wine with lovely red fruit character, blueberry and cherry flavours. It's a wine that develops beautifully in the glass with an intense aroma of lavender and mint along with darker leather notes and Asian spice.

As the name would suggest, this little-known grape variety is thought to be of Roman origins, brought to France and planted mainly in northern Burgundy. DNA profiling however has the grape as a cross between Pinot Noir and the Spanish grape, Argent. Despite rumours of extinction, the grape was planted in Colchagua in 1912 and it is from these vineyards that Casa Silva make this unique and intriguing wine.

In 1997, Mario Pablo Silva, pictured to the left disguised as a Scottish sheep farmer, made a proposal to his father: he wanted to transform his bulk wine business which had been owned by the Silva family since 1892 into a prestige bottling company for export, bearing the family's own name. Mario Silva accepted his son's challenge and Casa Silva was created. In a short space of time, Casa Silva has become one of the most prestigious and awarded producers of premium Chilean wine. They have a pioneering spirit and own enviable vineyard sites throughout the Colchagua region which allows them to produce some of Chile’s best terroir driven wines at all price points.

The winery has become one of Chile’s finest producers of Carmenere over recent years. The Microterroir and Los Lingues have won numerous awards and are widely regarded as two of the finest examples of Carmenere from Chile. Never one to stand still, they now produce sparkling wine, Riesling, Sauvignon Gris, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cesar Noir. We are going to need a bigger warehouse if they carry on like this!