2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Chilean Wine Review

We’ve all heard of Concha Y Toro, right? Hard not to—it’s been around for some time and for some of us (well, me) it represents good value varietals from Chile. Concho Y Toro is always a safe bet at restaurants when the list is not that impressive. You will know that you are getting a good bottle of varietal wine from Chile. To be honest, this may be a key reason my impression of Chilean wine goes back to the serviceable, good value issue.

Chile Wine That is Unlike Other Chilean Red Wines

Chilean wine is a contentious topic.  The problem is I haven’t had any — or I should say, many – really good wines from Chile. I know good Chilean red wine exists, but I usually go elsewhere, preferably a safe, well-known route. Well, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Marques de Casa Concha from the Conchy Y Toro family destroyed this myth. I mean, it shot it right out of the water. (more…)

 A Red Wine from Mendoza, Argentina  

I keep a lot of wines from Argentina around the house. I find them a good value and they typically have a lot of forward, spicy fruit which I enjoy. I recently tried Mapema, a 2005 Malbec wine from Mendoza, Argentina.

Packed full of Flavor in Argentina Wine

On  the first taste of the Mapema, I realized this was classic Malbec, but was decidedly better than most. It was a little more serious than your typical Malbec. It did this without giving anything up on the traditional characteristics. This wine is a high altitude, cool air wine that gives off a lot of intensity of black and red cherries. It is bold with overtones of vanilla, coffee and chocolate. There is some pepper to be found here as well.

A key indicator of the quality of any wine for me is the quality and length of the finish:

• Does the wine continue to evolve for the next 30-60 seconds after you have sipped it?
• How about 2 minutes? Is it still pleasant?
• When do you notice that the taste stops?

Mapema Malbec 2005 certainly has a wonderful long, pleasant finish. It is much longer than I expect with most Malbecs no matter where they are from.

This is a wine that could set a new benchmark for Malbec and Argentinean wines. It has a Wine Advocate Rating of 90 points and is priced to sell at $17.00, I know I’ll revisit it soon.

How a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc brought me back to New Zealand Wines

There was a time I was on a three year Chardonnay kick for all my white wines. Then, I became  tired of Chards and found Sauvignon Blancs.

After that, I found New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and thought I had found wine heaven.

These wines were terrific…real wakeup wines. Bracing, good clean acidity and lots of fruit. I thought Kim Crawford was just wonderful and would have put her on my buddies list, had there been one back then.

In time though, as with Chardonnay, my tastes started to wander and I moved away from Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand to some other non-Chardonnay whites.  While I’m back to Chardonnays again, I did not return to my love of New Zealand white wines.

So, imagine my surprise when I picked up a Brancott Reserve Sauvignon Blanc from Marborough, New Zealand!

I was ashamed of myself for abandoning New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs.

Make no mistake; it was Sauvignon Blanc and it was definitely from New Zealand.  You can’t mistake that grassy, citrusy nose; that bracing acidity and that clean crispness of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Oh, but this one went further than I remember most New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs going. It had a full, almost silky, mouthfeel.

I suppose I was tasting the difference between a “regular” Sauvignon Blanc and a reserve Sauvignon Blanc. The wine showed more depth, especially on the finish which was long, lingering and pleasant. What was missing was some of the harshness that I had found in some of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines I had tasted previously.

So, I’m back to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

 I’ll be looking for a reserve and I’ll especially be looking for the Brancott Reserve Sauvignon Blanc from Marborough. With a Wine Spectator Rating of 92 from their April ‘09 issue and a price of $18.00 a bottle, this New Zealand wine is well worth it and real pleasure!