Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Maipo Valley 2003.

November 23, 2007 at 2:43 am · Filed under Maipo Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon wine Chile

This 100% Cabernet is from a very old, very reliable producer in Chile’s Maipo Valley. Their website says they’ve been at it since 1880. Though I haven’t been there and can’t really claim to understand the lay of the land, my sense has long been that the Maipo is somewhat analogous to California’s Central Valley. IOW, you’ve got your Lodi, and you’ve got your Woodbridge.

The Cabernet from this producer has been very good, which is why this particular bottle was such a disappointment. The nose has some mysterious chemical notes overriding cherries. There’s a whiff of burnt oak as well. The first attack of the palate suggests good texture and ripe fruit, but that’s replaced very quickly with more chemicals, burnt oak, and something resembling a pile of burning tires. The finish is pleasantly dry, considering the ripeness of the wine, but the chemical flavors linger unpleasantly.

As mentioned, I’ve liked wines from this producer before. I’ve liked this vintage before. I think one of two things is going on here. First and more likely, as devotees of the church of two buck chuck can tell you, when you’re dealing with wines that are made by the tankful, there can be a huge amount of variation from lot to lot and bottle to bottle. Which makes it all the more amazing when a huge production wine like Ch. St Jean’s Cingue Cepage is selected as “Wine of the Year” by the leading Wine Porn Magazine. In this case, maybe Santa Rita uses oak chips in stainless steel tanks to “barrel age” this wine, and maybe somebody burned the chips that went into this particular tank. Secondly, one of the criticisms that wine geeks level against Trader Joes, perhaps fairly, is that goods are almost by definition distressed before they hit the shelves, so maybe the winery sends their wine to TJ’s once they have accidentally left 100 pallets for a week on a railroad siding during 90 degree weather.

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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.

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Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexander Merlot 2004

November 15, 2007 at 6:06 am · Filed under Rapel Valley, Merlot wine Chile

If you want to broaden your view of Merlot, try this chilean wine. This, and many others from South America and places like Washington State and Northern Italy will surely redefine your view of Merlot. If you think of Merlot as the simple, sweet restaurant by-the-glass default, you’re missing out. Move past those wines, and discover Merlot such as this Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexander. It has heft and real, elegant wine qualities. What gets my attention is that it’s slightly dryer and more earthy than what I expect from Merlot. This is a very nice wine for US$19 and it has educated my palate. Raise a glass!

Tasting notes:
Berries and earth bouquet
Nice fruit core on the palate, a lot of layers unfold
Very dry finish for Merlot

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Anakena Ona White blend.

November 15, 2007 at 5:41 am · Filed under Rapel Valley, Chardonnay wine Chile, Riesling wine Chile, White blend, Viognier

From Anakena Vineyard:

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Casas del Bosque Chardonnay 2005, Casablanca Valley.

November 1, 2007 at 2:57 pm · Filed under Casablanca Valley, Chardonnay wine Chile

SurVino:
This wine is difficult to forget; although we drank it three weeks ago, its memory remains sufficiently fresh to inspire more than a few lines. In essence this is a French oak wine, in which the natural wood aromas seem to dominate over the toasted ones (there is neither candy nor graphite but rather wood resin). This is a very robust wine in the mouth, with balanced acidity; that is to say, somewhere between dry and fresh. Recommended.

Presenttation Casas del Bosque Vineyard:
Tasting Notes
Grapes : Chardonnay 100%., Casablanca Valley.
Vintage : The grapes were carefully hand harvested in April 2005
Average per Ha : 7 Ton.
Winemaking : This wine was fermented in first and second used French barrels, with selected yeasts. Then it was kept with their lees for about 9 months where they received a batonage weekly. No malolactic fermentation took place, to maintain their natural acidity.
Tasting notes : Intense gold color, with peach and apricot mixed with a hint of hazel hunt and lemony oak aromas. Full bodied palate, peach/lemon flavors, mid palate with a long mineral and creamy finish prolonged by an elegant vanilla.
Analisys : Alcohol: 13,7%, Total acidity: 5,15 g/L (C4H606), pH: 3,44

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