Value Reds from Chile – Wine Blogging Wednesday 52 Summary

One of my favorite things at Cheap Wine Ratings is the summary posts, where I can give you a list of wines that have been tried to help you find some great new wines at prices that won’t cause you to break the bank.  The contributions are in for Wine Blogging Wednesday #52 and altogether we had 34 participants (myself included).

I think the results show that there are a lot of enjoyable and inexpensive wines coming from Chile.  I saw particular excitement about Carménère, a grape variety that is thriving in Chile.  Many of the reviews were positive—there were a few disappointments, but that’s to be expected with wines in this price range.  Overall, I’m thrilled with the quantity of positive reviews and I think you’ll find a lot of good wines to add you your shopping list while going trhough the reviews.

I usually rank wines in the summaries I post, but with so many different contributors, with different evaluation methods it’s impossible to rank the results by numbers.  Instead I’ve grouped them by what looks like good, mediocre and disappointing.  If you think I put your review in the wrong category, just drop me a note.  Also, please let me know if I missed anyone.

The Good

Let’s start out with some Cabernet Sauvignon.  Typically this is not the first wine you’d pick in a tasting lineup, but since this is virtual we can go crazy!

• First time Wine Blogging Wednesday participant The Wine Predator brought two bottles to the table, the 2006 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon “Alexandre” (about $20) and the 2006 Santa Rita Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (about $10).  It sounds like both wines were good, and the Casa Lapostolle edged out the Santa Rita.
• William at Wine for Newbies tried the 2007 Rayun Cabernet Sauvignon and gave it a “doggone close to a 90” score.  At a mere $10, this sounds like a great bargain.
• Michelle and Kevin at My Wine Education enjoyed the 2006 Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva for about $10 and reflected on the 2008 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc that we had enjoyed recently.
• John at Anything Wine gave a favorable review of the 2006 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon which he found for about $15.
• At Chronic Negress, you’ll find yet another good review for the 2006 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Jim at Music & Wine enjoyed the 2007 Miguel Torres Tormenta Cabernet Sauvignon for a very affordable $12.

Next up, let’s try some Merlot.

• Dan from Bibendum joined us as another first-timer to share his thoughts on the 2007 Valdivieso Merlot Reserva, which sounds like a good one.
• Joe at 1 Wine Dude provided an outstanding list of 5 reasons why Chilean wine kicks ass.  And says that for $8, the Concha y Toro Xplorador Merlot is “damn good.”
• Erika at StrumErika shared her thoughts on another good Chilean Merlot, the 2004 Viña Ventisquero Reserva.

We had only one Pinot Noir in the mix, but it comes from the head wine buyer at one of my favorite local wine shops.

• Kevin at Under the Grape Tree tried the 2007 Cona Sur Organic Pinot Noir for $9.49, which he has added to his list of favorite entry-level Pinots.

Malbec often makes people think of Argentina, but we had a number of Malbec tasting from Chile for this event.

• The Winesleuth went for the 2006 De Martino Single Vineyard Malbec and gave it a glowing review, suggesting that Chile might even do Malbec better than Argentina.
• Vinagoth, The WIne Barbarian, said that the $10, 2007 Viu Manent Secreto Malbec “blew the doors off” a $40+ Napa Cab.  He also has several other Chilean wine reviews on his site he’s another advocate for finding good wines right in the price range of Cheap Wine Ratings.
• The Bubble Brothers in Ireland tried the 2005 La Fortuna Malbec for €11.50 and had some good things to say about it including tasting notes in the form of a car ride analogy.

Syrah also mad an appearance.

• Richard at The Passionate Foodie enjoyed the 2006 Montes Syrah Alpha for $16.99, which as he points out is primarily Syrah but has 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Viognier.

Let’s not forget the red blends.

• Rémy at The Wine Case, for the most part, enjoyed the 2006 Cono Sur Organic Cabernet/Carménère Blend.
• Thea, the Wine Brat at Luscious Lushes’s Blog, enjoyed the 2005 Nomad Red Blend.  And of course, I enjoyed the 2004 Nomad.

The most popular variety in this tasting was Carménère, so let’s check out all the options.

• Katie at Gonzo Gastronomy used Wine Blogging Wednesday as an opportunity to challenge readers to try some little-known varieties of wine.  For this event she tried the 2006 Viu Manent Carménère Reserva, which it sounds like she enjoyed.
• Deb at Good Wine Under $20 tried the 2005 Viña Cono Sur Carménère and gave it an excellent QPR rating.
• Lenn at Lenndevours, and founder of Wine Blogging Wednesday, also tried the Viña Cono Sur Carménère but went with the 2007.  While it wasn’t his “cup of tea” he thought that lovers of soft, fruity reds would enjoy it.
• Sonadora, the Wannabe Wino, found an affordable and enjoyable everyday wine in the 2006 Casa Silva Reserva Carménére for $13.99. And she earns extra points for using a coupon to save a couple extra dollars.
• Tim at Winecast also got on the Carménère bus and gave a positive review to the 2006 Casa Silva Gran Reserva Carménére.
• At Drink What You Like they tried three Chilean wines.  The 2006 Casa Silva Carménère Reserva got a thumbs up, but they weren’t as impressed with the 2006 BrisAndes Cabernet Sauvignon or the 2005 De Martino Cabernet Sauvignon.  Since the Carménère was the top pick, I listed this contribution in that section.
• Matt at A Good Time with Wine also brought three wines to the party—clearly he knows how to have a good time with wine.  The wines included the 2007 Anakena Carménère, the 2006 Anakena Single Vineyard Carménère and the 2007 Morande Pionero Carménère.  He thought all of them were quite enjoyable, particularly for under $10.
• At Spittoon, the 2008 MontGras Carmenere Reserva, which cost £5.39, scored an 88/100.
  

The “Meh”

There were a few reviews that sounded like the wine was OK, but nothing outstanding.

• At Recently Consumed the 2006 Veo Grande Cabernet Sauvignon got a so-so review.
• Dale at Drinks Are On Me also enjoyed the Montes Syrah Alpha and didn’t go gah-gah over it, but found it quite drinkable.
• Kori at Wine Peeps tried two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon.  She tried the 2006 Calina Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva and the 2006 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon. Both of which she characterized as decent sippers, with great QPR (both under $10) although not as big as Cabs traditionally are.  It sounds like the Calina edged out the Los Vascos by a nose (no pun intended).
• Greg at The Cab Franco Files was a bit disappointed with the 2004 Maquis Lien.  He found that it would have been a good wine for a few dollars less than the $14 he paid.  But he gets extra points for being the only participant to include a Venn diagram as a part of his review.
• Bloviatrix was underwhelmed by the 2006 Viña Chocalan Carménère Selección Maipo Valley, despite the fact that it scored a 90 in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.
• At Vinomadic the review of 2006 Ventura Carménère sounded mediocre, although the post was the most poetic of all contributions.

The Disappointing

• Ribbie at Ribbie’s Weblog joined us for his first Wine Blogging Wednesday and assembled a panel of tasters, including two native Chileans, to try the 2006 Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva.  Unfortunately, they found this one not to be an ideal pick.
• David at 2 Days per Bottle tried the 2005 Viña Santa Rita Carménère 120 and his recommendation is to run away from this one.
• Alex at Eating Leeds tried the 2008 Casa Roca Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, which she found to be a disappointing fruit bomb.

Other Contributions

Robert at Wine Post participated but did not add a review due to a conflict of interest… Robert is a PR representative for Wines of Chile.  Rather than a review, he offered some facts about Chilean wine.

Thank you to all who participated.  I can’t wait to try some of these wines.  Next time you go wine shopping, try something from Chile.  I think your palate and your wallet will both be pleased.  Cheers!