Wines of Chile
Carménère is the star of this tasting and I think she took everyone by surprise, ala Robert Downey Jr. did in Ironman. Of course, you have probably heard the story of this particular grape and how it is called the lost grape of Bordeaux. Blah, blah, blah. It doesn’t matter and if it really does, just click here for the Google search.
This particular event was an online tasting hosted by Wines of Chile, a trade group whose sole purpose is, you guessed it, promoting the quality wines of Chile. I’m sure most of you have had a Chilean wine. It was probably made by Concha y Toro and if nothing else, I’m sure you have at least seen their famous mid-level priced series Casillero del Diablo.
The beauty of this tasting was the fact the winemakers were all together in the same room and we could watch them on video. The bad thing was, you had to call in to hear the audio. We didn’t have a speaker phone to use and I didn’t want to burn cell phone minutes. The other downer was the chat box was really small and trying to Tweet about the topic, while watching the fast flowing microscopic chat box was just all too much. Beyond those little niggly issues, the wines were overall an excellent selection and proof that the quality of Carménère from Chile has vastly improved.
Now, onto the quickie notes.
2007 Santa Carolina Reserva Carménère SRP = $10 Chocolate & espresso on top of ripe red fruit, with faint hints of bell pepper on the nose which make NO appearance on the palate.
2007 Odfjell Armador Carménère SRP = $13 My wife liked this one, I didn’t care for it as much. Based on what everyone else had to say, I must have missed out, because their notes sound really good. I may have to buy a bottle and give it a whirl with a nice steak.
2007 Viu Manent Carménère Reserva SRP = $14 Two strikes on this one. The overwhelming green nose was something I just couldn’t get past. It also had a very alcoholic finish and was just out of balance. This is the only wine I’d probably actually go out of my way to avoid. One review site said this would be too much for beginners. Me, I just thought it was too much period.
2007 Cono Sur Vision Carménère SRP = $15 Loads of berry and pepper, with a nice acidity to make it really diverse with food. This was a welcome follow up and was really quite good. This would work well with a nicely crusted black pepper steak. This was a blend, with 85% Carménère, 9% Cabernet sauvignon and 6% Syrah.
2008 Vina La Rosa La Capitana Barrel Reserve Carménère SRP = $18 This was a big hit with us. As my wife put it, it tasted like “smoked Mexican chocolate”. It had loads of black berry fruits to go along with the chocolatey goodness, was smooth and round, with a very easy drinking style. I’m sure if you threw this into a blind tasting, it would take folks by surprise.
2007 Ventisquero Grey Carménère SRP = $25 Another blend, with a composition of 85% Carménère, 7.5% Syrah and 7.5% Cabernet sauvignon. We both felt like this needed some aeration to open it up a bit, as it seemed a little tight to us. This was one of the first to show a much more old world feel, with more earthy tones on the nose, but balanced with some fruit on the palate. Overall, didn’t care for this one.
2007 Terra Andina Altos Carménère SRP = $19 A big departure, this was 60% Carménère and 40% Carignan, a grape I’ve not seen used in Chile. I associate this with Priorat and Monstant more than anywhere else. This was really good, as it tasted like cherry cough syrup (in a good way) with licorice, blueberry and as one other person said (sorry, I forget who!), flat cola. Drink now.
2004 Carmen Wine Maker’s Reserve Red SRP = $44 A blend of 45% Cabernet sauvignon, 25% Carménère, 14.5% Merlot, 8.5% Syrah and 7% Petite Sirah, this was the most distinctive wine of the lot. This was as many others put it, Bordeaux like, with a very strong sense of earth. Imagine roasting some herb rubbed figs over cedar fired hot rocks and there you go. This is for the old world fans, as secondary notes are the real stars here. I’d love to have had this by itself and not at the end of a rushed tasting.
Overall, it was surprising even for me to taste the quality of these wines. I’ve had some good Carménère before, but hadn’t had any of these particular wines before, though I have had the Viu Manent in a previous vintage. With the cooler weather coming, you should definitely check out your local wine shop’s Chilean section and look beyond the usual suspects.
As for local availability, I know Viu Manent, Cono Sur, Odfjell and Terra Andina are all distributed here in Georgia, but that is about all I know.
Here are what other participants had to say:
[...] Atlanta Wine Guy: Wines of Chile [...]
Great write-up!
Thanks! Yours was great too.
Nice recap Kevin. Your notes pretty much nail it.
I finished that Carmen the next night and it was killer.
You are correct, suffered a bit coming at the end of the tasting as it is a very nice wine. Cheers!
Thanks Dennis. I thought it was a really good tasting overall, with a great mix of modern and traditional styles, along with a couple of tasty blends. I should’ve tried the Carmen the next night, but just didn’t get to it. Like you said, a nice alternative for Bordeaux fans.