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April/May
2008
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Wine Review
Archive: Chile:
Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends
($12). Simple but tasty, with fresh
red cherry and berry flavors touched
with sweet spice and fresh herbal notes.
Ready to drink now. (Robyn's Picks 07/07)
($23).
Delicious - one of the best of the tasting,
and at a great price. Strikes a nice balance
between elegance and ripeness, with focused
blackberry and black plum fruit layered
with dark chocolate, clove, coffee and
just a touch of mint. Generous, plush
finish. Ready to drink now. (Robyn's Picks
07/07)
($10). Jammy blackberry fruit is laced
with mint, milk chocolate and cracked
black pepper. A value winner for those
looking for this kind of jammy style.
Ready to drink now. (Weekend Wine 02/05)
($10). Another winner from Chile. Silky
smooth ripe fruit, plenty of oak aging,
and a wonderful roasted espresso bean
layer of flavor that compliments the cherry
and chocolate main players. Great tannins,
lingering finish. Just wonderful! (Robyn's
Picks, 04/00)
($15). Nice, with its black cherry and
berry fruit laced with roasted herbs,
anise and smoky oak notes. Moderate
finish. Ready to drink now. (Robyn's
Picks 07/07)
($15). Loads of structure here -- especially
at this price, with deep blackberry and
cherry fruit accented with wet earth,
leather and smoky oak. Ready to drink
now. (Weekend Wine 08/06)
($19). A great value --
and widely available -- this Cab offers
aromatic, mouthfilling blackberry and
plum fruit accented with cocoa, smoke,
herbs and toasty oak. Long, focused finish.
Ready to drink now and over the next couple
of years. (Weekend Wine 07/05)
($8). Starts
with sweet red fruit bouquet, with medium
bodied red cherry, plum and spice notes.
Picks up a distinct bubblegum note at
the tail end that is slightly cloying.
Ready to drink now. (Wine Tastings,
10/03)
($13). Twice as good as the 2001 Estate
Cab (above) for just five bucks more.
Dark, spicy fruit bouquet leads to medium-bodied
black cherry and plum fruit with smooth
spices on the pleasantly lingering finish.
Ready to drink now. (Wine Tastings,
10/03)
($22). Racy and sexy, this
Cab delivers ripe plum, raisin, and
toasted nut flavors on a firm tannin
frame. The finish is a knock-out. Wow.
(Robyn's Picks, 04/00)
($10). This one is a great quaff –
juicy cherry and vanilla flavors are
clean and straightforward, with just
enough clove to add balance. Would be
great with a burger. Drink now. (Robyn's
Picks, 04/00)
($12). Nice intensity,
balancing earthy and spicy accents against
red cherry, currant and toasty herbal
notes. Not your everyday simple quaff.
Ready to drink now. (Weekend Wine 08/05)
($12). Ripe plum and blackberry fruit
are smooth and laced with herb, chocolate
and toasty oak -- all on a supple, nicely
integrated frame, finishing long and lush.
A heck of a deal. Ready to drink now and
over the next year or two. (Weekend Wine
07/05)
($10). Smooth black cherry
and black cherry are laced with aromatic
toasty oak and spicy vanilla. Medium
bodied with a long finish. Ready to
drink now. (Weekend Wine 03/07)
($12). A little funky earth on the nose,
but then ripe bing cherry and chocolate
flavors dominate, with a bit of spicy
vanilla on the finish. Ready to drink
now. (Bargain Wine 10/07)
($56).
Blockbuster stuff, with rich black
currant and blackberry flavors accented
with sweet tobacco, earth, mocha and
exotic spices. Nothing shy about this
wine, from start to full-bodied finish,
with some definite grip throughout.
Ready to drink now and over the next
four or five years. (Splurge Wine
12/07)
120 ($8). Easy drinking, with simple
black cherry and spice flavors that
"go down smooth." Ready
to drink now. (Robyn's Picks 07/07)
($19).
Just an outstanding value, with concentrated,
beautifully structured blackberry,
currant and blueberry fruit laced
with earthy dark chocolate, espresso
and roasted herbal notes that fold
into a long, deep finish. Ready to
drink now and over the next three
or four years. (Drinks with Les Dames
02/08)
($11). Slightly clunky, but still
tasty, with plum, blackberry, vanilla
and spicy oak flavors that are easy
to like. Ready to drink now. (Robyn's
Picks 07/07)
($61). Pretty and aromatic,
with blackberry, sweet tobacco, clove,
vanilla and a touch of earth on a
smooth, supple frame. Lingering finish.
Should age nicely. Ready to drink
now and over the next three or four
years. (Drinks with Les Dames 02/08)
($56). A great example
of how well Santa Rita's upper-tier
wines can age, this one has smoothed
out a bit and has taken on a lusher
quality than when it was first released.
Rich, ripe blackberry and currant
flavors, with roasted coffee, bittersweet
chocolate and sweet, smoky earthy
notes that fold together on a long
finish. Ready to drink now and over
the next four or five years. (Drinks
with Les Dames 02/08)
($56). The fruit is diminishing
here, and it definitely offers an
aged character, but this is still
a lovely wine. With smoky black plum
and concentrated berry fruit layered
with sweet tobacco, nutmeg and other
baking spices, dark chocolate and
just a touch of dried herbs. Moderate
but complex finish. An impressive
example of high-end Chilean Cabernet
and how it can age. Ready to drink
now. (Robyn's Picks 07/07)
($15).
Supple red cherry and plum fruit are
studded with touches of spice, toasty
oak, and light vanilla in this Chilean
Cab. Slightly simple, but still enjoyable.
Ready to drink now. (Weekend Wine,
02/03)
($11). Although I love a good Chilean
Cabernet, I cannot say that this was
one of my favorites. Not enough going
on, at this point anyway. Simple cherry
and currant flavors, a slightly bitter
tarragon-like note, and not much happening
on the finish. A few years of cellaring
might help open things up, though.
At this price, might be a risk worth
taking. Try again in 2002. (Weekend
Wine, 05/00)
($27). Deep
and intense, with focused blackberry
and plum fruit laced with cigar box,
spices and toasty oak. A blend of Cabernet
Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (30%) and Cabernet
Franc (10%). Ready to drink now. (Robyn's
Picks 07/07)
($30). From
Col d'Orcia's Chile vineyards, this debut
Bordeaux blend is tightly wound, offering
wild berry and plum fruit flavors along
with leather and earth accents that carry
through the finish. Ready to drink now
and over the next couple of years.
(Italian Connection 06/05)
($10). We quite enjoyed
this unusual blend. Ripe red cherry,
black currant, spice and a hint of white
pepper meld into a smooth, sweet oak
finish. Ready to drink now and over
the next couple of years. (Winery Spotlight,
10/02)
($13).
Smoky, tobacco character dominates the
bouquet of this blend of nearly equal
parts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere,
Merlot and Malbec. Ripe red cherry and
tart blackberry fruit with more smoke
on finish. Finishes a bit short. Ready
to drink now. (Winery Spotlight, 10/02)
($15). Lots of tannic
structure, but with an elegant overall
profile -- this is a really good Cabernet
value. Rich blackberry and tobacco bouquet
introduces medium-bodied black fruit
with cracked pepper, smoke and rich
tobacco notes. Food-friendly acidity.
Elegant, lingering finish. Ready to
drink now and over the next two or three
years. (Weekend Wine, 12/03)
($7). I especially appreciated the smoky,
gamey edge to this wine – it takes
what might have otherwise been a rather
simple, if juicy, wine and makes it more
complex and balanced. Nicely done. (Robyn's
Picks, 04/00)
($12). Spearmint and sweet tobacco aromas
and flavors accent concentrated black
currant and cherry fruit, picking up
a touch of black pepper on the full
finish. Would stand up nicely to grilled
meats. Ready to drink now and over the
next couple of years. (Bargain Wine
10/04)
($10). Oooh yummy! This
one shows a great variety of flavor
– very sophisticated, especially
for this price. Prune and red plum mix
into the fruity bouquet, with layers
of chocolate covered cherries, fennel,
and mint. The elegantly lingering finish
rounds out this very impressive package.
Great now; should age nicely. (Robyn's
Picks, 04/00)
($8). This "non-reserve" version
of Viu Manent’s 97 Cab is the kid
brother to the reserve – very similar
flavors and structure, just on a slightly
smaller level. Drinking very well now.
(Robyn's Picks, 04/00)
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