Alfasi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

I was intrigued when I saw a kosher wine from Chile on the shelf, so I had to give this one a try.  I’ve reviewed a number of Chilean wines recently and have been generally pleased with what I’ve gotten, so I was really curious how this one would stack up.

In doing some digging, I didn’t find any background information on the vineyards where this was sourced.  But I did see a couple places selling it that touted a score of 87 from Wine Enthusiast magazine. It should be noted that the 87 rating was for the 2000 vintage… the places selling it did not note that fact and were selling the 2007 vintage.

This is not as big as many other Chilean Cabernet Sauvignons I’ve had and it’s definitely not as fruit-forward.  The nose has reasonable intensity, but not a lot of complexity.  It’s a rather smoky nose with a blackberry and a hint of clove.  The palate is full but, as I mentioned, it is not fruit forward.  Sour cherry is the dominant characteristic on the palate and there’s a bitter quality mid-palate.  In fact, I found the bitterness to be objectionable.  The tannins are soft and the finish is OK.

Wine: Alfasi Reserve
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 77
Price: $11.99