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.

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De Martino Legado Syrah, 2005, Choapa Valley, Chile

September 22, 2007 at 7:23 am · Filed under Choapa Valley, Shiraz wine Chile

Is it Syrah or Shiraz? Not that it matters but unusually for a New World bottling the label uses the French Syrah rather than the more established (for non-French wines) Shiraz. Perhaps they are trying to differentiate themselves from the Australians. It matters little.

Tasting Note: Di Martino Legado Syrah, 2005, Choapa Valley, Chile
Everywine £96.99 case. Oddbins £7.49 (not listed on-line). A big lad in every respect apart from the rather closed nose. Big, deep and brooding in colour; bold, rich and concentrated on the palate. There is a little oak but generally smooth and ripe with a lick of pepper on the finish.

Nice enough and good with a Potato, Cheshire Cheese and Spring Onion puff pastry tart but too young and one dimensional to be classed as anything above average.

The Legado Reserva wines come from the family’s own estate in the Maipo Valley. Produced from grapes carefully selected and hand-picked, these wines have good colour, individual personality, great structure, and are concentrated and fruity, expressively representative of each variety. The wines receive 12 months ageing in French oak (except Sauvignon Blanc) and production is limited.

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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.

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Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Syrah 2004, Cachapoal Valley.

September 11, 2007 at 1:13 am · Filed under Cachapoal Valley, Shiraz wine Chile

This Syrah is grown in rocky Las Kuras Vineyard of Requinoa, in the Cachapoal Valley, and it’s from Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Syrah wine Cachapoal Valleytheir midlevel Cuvee Alexandre series. It’s made from 100% Syrah grapes grown after a dry 2003 season which resulted in budding some 10 days earlier than average. What’s really crazy is that there was no rain registered that summer at all. The wine was aged for 21 months in new French oak barrels and it weighs in at 14.5% alcohol.

Dark purple in color. The nose took a while to open up, but when it did it revealed definite meat aromas with ripe dark fruits. This wine feels very fleshy and full bodied. I get some complex notes that include chocolate and cigar box. Overall, it’s well balanced and persistent on the finish. While I do find this wine to be worth the $20 I paid, it’s not as intriguing as the Montes Alpha Syrah I tasted a few weeks ago. It went extremely well with the sausage and peppers I had for dinner and got better with every sip I took.

*****History - Story*****
I must sound like a broken record. It seems like every wine I write about lately is from Chile. Well I just can’t help it. The price to quality ratio of these wines is impressive. The Carmeneres are basically free. The Cab Sauvignon and Merlots are usually half of what I’d pay for a comparable domestic version. The Pinot Noir can be satisfying while still accessible under $20. For some reason Chilean Syrah is undeniably more expensive then the other varietals. While the bargain wines I’ve had before are consistently a pleasant surprise, at $20 I’m expecting a $35 flavor profile that will rock my palate.

Casa Lapostolle Winery was founded in 1994 by the Marnier Lapostolle family from France and the Rabat family from Chile. The French connection are founders and owners of Grand Marnier ( of the Spirit fame) and have been winegrowers in the Loire Valley. They own 300 hectacres and produce 150,000 cases, including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere, and Syrah.

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Shiraz Tradition 2005 (Sirah), Chateau Los Boldos Vineyard, Valle de Rapel Valley

May 15, 2007 at 4:52 am · Filed under Chilean appellations, Rapel Valley, Chilean red wines, Shiraz wine Chile

Chateau Los Boldos Vineyard Presentation:
This Tradition Shiraz 2005 wine (Sirah), a dark black colour, has a very attractive aroma, typical of Syrah. On the nose, the aromas of spices, black pepper, olives and fresh tobacco stand out. On the palate, the tannins are very rounded, almost sugary. With a good concentration, this Tradition Syrah has a long finish in the mouth.

SurVino:

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