Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Merlot 2005

January 2, 2008 at 5:21 pm · Filed under Colchagua Valley, Rapel Valley, Merlot wine Chile

Region: Non irrigated 60 year old vines. Apalta Vineyard, Colchagua Valley, Rapel Valley.
Grape: 85% Merlot, 15% Carmenère.
Harvest: Hand-harvested from 8th of April in small baskets of 15 kg. Coming from non irrigated 60 years old vines of limited yields: 5.3 tons/ha (2.5 tons/acre) for the Merlot 3.5 tons/ha (1.5 tons/acre) for the Carmenère. The 2004-2005 season began with a dry winter and a cool and cloudy spring. Summer was dry. During the last two weeks of February, the temperatures climbed, which had the effect of correcting the delays observed during the early stages of the growth. The temperature decreased in March and the month of April was exceptionally sunny, helping to achieve a perfect ripening process. Lower yields combined with great climatic conditions generated and exceptional vintage 2005.

TASTING
Color: Deep red with purple shadows.
Nose: Intense, ripe red fruit typical of Apalta wines. Plums & cherries integrate well with the delicate oak touches of sweet spice, nutmeg and vanilla.
Mouth: A generous attack is followed by a pleasant and smooth mid palate. The finish is persistent and the overall structure is vivacious and well balanced. Ready to drink now or cellar for several years.

view and send comments (1)

Adobe Carmenere 2004

January 2, 2008 at 7:56 am · Filed under Colchagua Valley, Carmenere wine Chile, Organic Chilean wines

Vineyard: Emiliana Organico
Chilean organic wine

Tasting notes:
Spectacular ruby red color. The fruit-forward nose recalls ripe cherries and plums with a subtle touch of spice and pepper.
The palate starts swite, moves on to full fruit expression, and end with flavorful tannins and a long finish.
This wine is goog convination with pastas, ripe chises and read meats.

view and send comments (1)

Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon, Concha y Toro vineyard 2005.

November 23, 2007 at 2:25 am · Filed under Colchagua Valley, Curico Valley, Maipo Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon wine Chile

2005 Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon, ChileIt’s past time that I update a few TJ’s faves. This blog has been around for about a year now, and naturally many of the wines reviewed have been replaced with new vintages on the shelves at your local Trader Joes.

I know that for some readers of this blog, vintage seems like a trivial concern. How much different can the 2004 and the 2005 of a certain wine be? When it comes to large-tank producers, that’s a good point. Winemakers strive for consistency year-to-year, and may even blend some wine between vintages to achieve it. You can make a case that non-vintage is the way to go at some price points, in order to achieve uniform quantity. OTH, weather and other factors can cause huge differences between vintages - and sometimes even between tanks. There was a story not too long ago in the L.A. Times ( I think) about two-buck-chuck aficionados being so attuned to the variable quality of each tankfull of the swill, that they would buy one bottle, taste it in the parking lot, and come back for more if it passed muster. And think about it — it’s an amazing technical achievement to make the entire run of a 50,000 case wine, coming as it does from thousands of different barrels - all taste the same. It’s not like there is one big tank you can use to blend wine all that stuff.

BTW -sometimes, I really wonder. Not that long ago, I heard one winemaker jokingly tell another how simple it would be to swap the 2000 labels on several barrels of Napa Valley Cabernet with 2001 labels. Now this was clearly a joke, but the best jokes start with a grain of truth, don’t they?

The 2005 Casillero Cabernet is decent, if unexciting. The nose features redwood chips, cassis, & blackberry pie. The wine is simple and juicy in the mouth but a touch astringent, leading to a clean, dry finish.

I don’t have a bottle of 2004 laying around to compare it with, but my feeling is that the 04 was a little brighter and more polished than the 05. Still, this is a solid value from a reliable producer.

view and send comments (2)

Cabernet Sauvignon “Root:1″ Colchagua Valley 2005

October 26, 2007 at 4:30 am · Filed under Colchagua Valley, Rapel Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon wine Chile, Shiraz wine Chile

The unique labeling attracts your attention and does a good job communicating the importance of good rootstock to making a good wine. The story goes that these are rare ungrafted vines growing in a rarified region. Unlike most of the world’s wine growing regions, here in Colchagua Valley Phylloxera has not destroyed the original vines or forced new vines to be grafted onto resistant root stock.

Seattle based Click Wine Group is partners with giant Agrosuper Viña Ventisquero on Root:1 Chilean Cabernet.

Winemaker Felipe Tosso reports the source of fruit is the Apalta and El Suspiro (”the whisper”) Vineyards in Colchagua Valley, a sub-region of Rapel Valley. The blend is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Syrah, aged about 1 year in French oak barrels.

Outstanding value ($11). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 14%.

Style: Fruit forward, complex, lush, dark fruit, some oak spice.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep ruby translucent. Aromas: Cherry, loganberry, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, and sage. Rich, well-structured and medium-bodied, the jammy dark fruit flavors merge with spicy cedary oak to create a big dry reverberating finish.

Comment: This unexpectedly fruity and new worldly Chilean Cab goes great with a medium rare steak.

view and send comments (1)

Montes Alpha Syrah 2003, Colchagua Valley.

September 19, 2007 at 5:26 am · Filed under Colchagua Valley, Shiraz wine Chile

The Alpha Series is a mid level range wines which include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Syrah wine Shiraz ChileSyrah. The Syrah grapes are grown at the Apalta Vineyard, in the Colchagua Valley, an area of steep hillsides in the higher elevations. The wine is aged in French Oak for one year and about 7000 cases imported into the USA. I picked this one up for $20 but I’m sure it can be found for as little as $16 online.

Ruby red color with concentrated aromas of black cherries and tobacco. Earth and floral aromas as well. Big and soft on the palate with some spice, some vanilla, as well as bitter chocalate. The finish is excellent in its length but the fruit fades a bit to fast. The 10% Cabernet Sauvignon gives this some power but it remains generous and elegant in the end. It’s not as masculine as the Columbia Winery Syrah I tried recently, but just as delicious and more exotic.

view and send comments