Tag Archives: Chilean wine

Price: Over 20 bucks, Tasting Notes, Uncategorized

Wines of Chile Terroir Master Class — Part 4: Cabernet

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This is the fourth and final post in a series about the Wines of Chile Terroir Master Class. The earlier posts covered 3 Sauvignon Blancs, 3 Pinot Noirs and 3 Carmeneres.

Ventisquero ‘Grey’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Maipo Valley ($29)

94% Cabernet Sauvignon · 6% Petit Verdot

A fresh nose of cassis and mint accented by rich spice box notes. A cool, structured Cab on the palate with ripe dark fruit and a firm tannic presence that manages to stay lifted. Despite the “18 months in French oak barrel”, it didn’t strike me as heavily oaked. Good stuff.

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Maquis Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Colchagua Valley ($19)

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Another fresh nose, this one featuring more herbal characteristics. Delicious dark berry fruit and peppery spice on the palate with grippy tannins. A very nice value at $19.

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Los Vascos ‘Le Dix’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Colchagua Valley ($65)

85% Cabernet Sauvignon · 10% Carmenere · 5% Syrah

Bright, intense and seductive nose. Definitely oaky, but not over-oaked — at least for my palate that evening. Complex on the palate — mixed berries, chocolate, spices — with a full, long, smooth finish. This one has that luxurious, Barry White feel and it’s working for me.

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Another very good flight of wines and a nice finish to the tasting. I enjoyed them all, but you can’t beat the the Maquis for the best value among these three Cabs.

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At the beginning of the tasting, I poured out a little of each of the 3 Carmeneres and 3 Cabernets to create a little more room for the wine to breathe before I got to them later in the tasting. Instead of pouring the wine down the sink, I poured them all into a single glass, creating a sort of master-blend to taste at the end of the tasting. So how was it?

Meh. There’s a reason blending is an art form not a random act. The resulting wine was pretty muddled and unimpressive despite being composed of some nice individual wines. Oh well, it was an interesting experiment.

 

Price: 11-15 bucks, Price: Over 20 bucks, Tasting Notes

Wines of Chile Terroir Master Class — Part 3: Carmenere

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Welcome to Part 3 of this mini-series of posts on the Wines of Chile blogger tasting held back in October. Earlier posts covered the 3 Sauvignon Blancs and 3 Pinot Noirs. The final post, yet to come, will deal with the 3 Cabernet Sauvignons.

But today, dear reader, we focus on Carmenere. I won’t try to retell the story of Carmenere in Chile. You can Google it. Suffice it to say this originally-Bordelais grape wound up widely-planted in Chile and has become it’s calling card. I was really happy to get to taste these three wines.

Wine #7

Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere 2010 Cachapoal Valley ($22)

100% Carmenere

Aromas of dusty black fruit and currants lead to a lean, but muscular palate presence. Green pepper and pencil lead dominate the plummy fruit. And plenty of tannins. A fierce little wine. Firm but friendly.

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Wine #8

Carmen Gran Reserva Carmenere 2010 Apalta-Colchagua Valley ($15)

95% Carmenere | 5% Carignan

The nose offers up tobacco and green pepper. On the palate it is plump and fleshy, with plummy fruit and sweet spices outlined by an ashy character. A Rubenesque Carmenere.

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Wine #9

Koyle ‘Royale’ Carmenere 2009 Colchagua Valley ($26)

85% Carmenere | 8% Petit Verdot | 7% Malbec 

This one leaps out of the glass with strong mineral/graphite/iron presence and some pleasant green notes. Firm on the palate, featuring chocolate notes along with the dark fruit. Finishes with puckery tannins. In my notebook I wrote: “Big, inky badass” and drew a picture of a giant squid. This wine definitely made the biggest impression on me of all the wines in the tasting, and I was still enamored by it when I tasted back through the wines the next day. I will seek out this bottle again.

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All in all, this was a very nice flight of wines. Along with the Sauvignon Blancs, the Carmenere flight was my favorite of this tasting. Carmenere is easy to forget when you’re browsing the racks at your favorite wine shop. These wines reminded me that they are worth seeking out.

And if you’re ever looking for a wine match for chicken liver, pork and black pepper paté (aren’t we all?), Carmenere will work very nicely.

Cheers!

 

 

Price: 11-15 bucks, Price: 16-20 bucks, Price: Over 20 bucks, Tasting Notes

Wines of Chile Terroir Master Class – Part 1: Sauvignon Blanc

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Recently, I participated in the Wines of Chile blogger tasting Terroir Master Class. Fred Dexheimer led the tasting from Chile while sitting with and chatting up the winemakers. We bloggers followed along via video, twitter and a chat tool. It was great fun.

There were 3 wines in each of 4 flights: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon.  I’ll focus on each flight in a separate post, starting today with Sauvignon Blanc.

Wine #1

Viña Casablanca ‘Nimbus’ Single Vineyard

Grapes: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Appellation: Casablanca Valley

Vintage: 2012

Price: $13

Nose full of gravel and citrus. High acid, green apple palate with some floral/herbal notes ending with a long, flinty finish. New World sap, but the overall impression manages to feel elegant. This wine drank nicely for almost a week after being opened.

 

Wine #2

San Pedro ‘1865’ Single Vineyard

Grapes: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Appellation: Leyda Valley

Vintage: 2011

Price: $19

The funk has arrived! Pungent, vegetal nose – like grapefruit squeezed over grilled asparagus. Distinctive, for sure, but not the most pleasant for me on this night. The palate is more appealing: full-bodied, rounded and almost creamy, but retaining Sauvignon Blanc’s crispness. The flavors are melony and spicy. Reactions from the live-chatting bloggers varied from wow to whoa. This one grew on me.

 

Wine #3

Casa Silva ‘Cool Coast’

Grapes: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Appellation: Colchagua Valley

Vintage: 2011

Price: $25

Pineapple & lime on the nose with a chalky character. Racy and full on the palate, continuing the bright pineapple theme, complimented by a rocky minerality and long finish. This is more one-note than the others (it’s like a pineapple lightsaber), but it’s a great note.

 

Overall verdict:

A fun flight. Shows the wide range of styles of Sauvignon Blanc that can come from the varied Chilean terroirs. The winner for me was the Nimbus (and the best value at $13), but overall I continue to be impressed with what Chile is doing with this variety.

Stay tuned for the next three flights. And in the meantime, if you haven’t tried a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc in a while, give one a try and let me know what you think.