We’ve been reviewing a number of cabernet sauvignons lately, but one wine we’ve come across that we really like is not quite a cabernet sauvignon, but rather is a red blend that is dominant in cabernet sauvignon.  Anka is a blend of 57% cabernet sauvignon, 16% merlot, 15% cabernet franc, 7% carmemere, 4%  syrah, and 1 % petit verdot.  While a number of wines labeled as “cabernet sauvignon” have more than just that grape in them, technically than can be labeled as a single varietal if they have a minimum percentage of that one varietal.  In Chile, where this wine is from, the minimum is 75%, so clearly this one is a blend.

Another thing you might notice on the label of this one is that it is “made with organically grown grapes.”  It can’t technically be labeled as “organic wine” because they use sulphites in the winemaking process.  And actually, as I look at the wording I have to raise an eyebrow.  ”Made with organically grown grapes” not made “of” or made “from” organically grown grapes.  I’m not quite sure what they’re saying.  Are there a few organically grown grapes or are they all organically grown?  It looks like some careful language to me, but I’m just pondering questions here… I haven’t had the opportunity to talk with them to confirm how they made it.

So, you can label me as a lazy journalist

This is a rather small production wine too, with less than 2,500 cases produced.  And regardless of all the stuff written on the label I can tell you one important thing about this wine that’s not on the label.  It’s really tasty!

When I first poured this wine, the oak was the only thing that came through on the nose.  And it came through like walking into my wood shop.  But after letting the wine breath for a moment the fruit came out of its shell and brought together a solid and well balanced nose.  Black cherry, blackberry, cassis, chocolate and nutmeg aromas blend beautifully and make smelling this wine really enjoyable.  The palate has a silky smooth feel with loads of deeply-concentrated, ripe fruit flavors, such as blackberry, plum, cherry and chocolate.  The finish is long and tastes like a chocolate covered cherry.   This is a lovely wine.

Wine: Anka
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 90
Price: $20.00

Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

Continuing with the cabernet sauvignon theme, today we’re checking out another Chilean cabernet from the Colchagua Valley region in Chile.

We’ve reviewed a few other Calcu wines, such as their malbec and their red blend, and we’ve found them to be generally decent.  They’ve not necessarily knocked our socks off, but they’re still good.  And that trend continues with this cabernet.

While this wine is labeled as cabernet sauvignon, it also has 10% carmenere (which adds a touch of Chilean uniqueness to the wine) and 10% petit verdot (which adds a touch of awesomeness to the wine).

This wine shows some of the classic cassis aromas along with vanilla, plum and a touch of floral.  The palate offers scrumpteous blackberry and plum flavors up front, followed by some dark chocolate.  The acidity is good and the tannins are sufficient.  The finish has an average length and berry flavors.  It did take a while for this wine to open up and really shine, so give this one some time and I’d recommend decanting to speed it up.

Wine: Calcu Reserva
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $14.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

A lot of the wines that I review seem to have a similar story.  A family owns a vineyard for generations and recently renovated their winery, blah, blah, blah.  Well, the story behind Maquis has a slightly different twist.  Yes, it’s a vineyard that has been owned by the same family for over 100 years.  But for most of that time, the family that owns this vineyard only produced grapes for other vintners.  It wasn’t until about ten years ago that they decided to make some of their own wine from the grapes they grow.

They built a new “gravity flow” winery to produce their wine.  That essentially means that the winery is designed to use gravity to move the wine through the process rather than pumping the wine from place to place.  The theory is that it treats the wine more gently, creating a better product.  For example, during the initial crush you don’t really want to “crush” the grapes but gently crack them open and let the juice escape.  If you were to truly crush the wine, you might also crush the seeds within the grapes adding bitter flavors to the wine.

Since 2005, winemaker Xavier Choné has been consulting with Maquis to help them take better advantage of location within their vineyards in Colchagua Valley.  Choné works with vineyards around the world and is associated with some great wines, like Opus One, and Maquis is the only South American vineyard he’s working with.

When I first smell a wine to try to judge it, I find myself asking, “Is it varietally correct?  Is it balanced?  Is it harmonious?  Is it interesting?  Is it exciting?”  And with this wine, the answer to all of those questions is a clear “yes!” Then I start to dig into it, “what do I smell here?”  In this case, it starts with chocolate aromas, layered with cassis, plum and cedar.  In the mouth, it has a wonderful, smooth and almost creamy texture.  It’s loaded with ripe fruit flavors, like black cherry, plum and blackberry.  The finish is relatively long and features cherry and black tea flavors.  Overall, I’m impressed and definitely recommend this one.

Wine: Maquis
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 89
Price: $20.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

The William Cole estate is situated in the Casablanca Valley, near the city of Casablanca.   There is also a William Cole Vineyards in St. Helena, California, but the wineries are unrelated.  William Cole Vineyards, the Chilean version, is owned and operated by William Cole, while William Cole Vineyards in St. Helena is owned and operated by William Ballentine, along with his family, including a son named Cole.  But that’s neither here, nor there.

William Cole Vineyards (the one in Casablanca, Chile) produces an array of traditional varietals, along with Carménére.  Their sauvignon blanc is sourced from cooler micro-climates that, William Cole claims, enable the wine to retain a natural acidity.  The grapes are destemmed and fermented in stainless steel tanks for a period of 15 days.

On the nose, the wine offers amazing and complex aromas of green bell pepper, along with an array of fruits, including grapefruit and peach.  On the palate the wine initially teases at following through on that robust nose, but the mid-palate and finish mysteriously fade away.  It comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.  The wine actually turns somewhat creamy, devoid of any real acidity.  It gives the sense of being somewhat out of balance.

This is a rather unique wine, offering a rich nose and fruity character, combined with a creamy and slightly mild finish.  It’s not as intense as some offerings from New Zealand, but should be considered by those looking for a tastier alternative to California versions of sauvignon blanc.  Just make sure you get the Chilean version of William Cole.

A  Salute!

Wine: William Cole Vineyards Columbine Special Reserve   
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 85
Price: $15

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

As any regular reader here probably knows, I’m a fan of Chilean wines.  It’s not that I have any personal connection to Chile, it’s just that we tend to find really good values from this region.  This cabernet from Peñalolen is no exception.

This wine comes from the Maipo Valley region in Chile, which is one of the oldest and most productive wine regions in Chile.  Maipo Valley is best known for its red wines, and particularly for its cabernet sauvignon.

The first smell of this wine makes me say, “hmmm, that’s nice” which is pretty good, but not quite a “wowee!”  It shows some pretty typical aromas for a cabernet sauvignon, like cassis, black cherry, cedar and pencil shavings.  The palate offers up tart blackberry, plum and coffee flavors with really good acidity.  The mouthfeel is nice with this one too.  The finish is medium in length and provides a tart cherry finish.

Wine: Peñalolen
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 87
Price: $18.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Every now and then we come across something we weren’t expecting and that gets us intrigued.  This is one of those cases.  It’s a carignan from Chile.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find a carignan from Southern France, or even from a Paso Robles Rhone Ranger.  But I wasn’t expecting to see one from Chile.  And my first hunch when I saw it was that someone was experimenting in Chile, but this is more than an experiment, it comes from 60 year old vines!  Yes, this wine has been in Chile for a while.  And that’s a good thing because carignan from young vines can actually be a bit too astringent.  And while this one has a little bit of astringency, it’s not unapproachable.

This wine has the kind of aromas on the nose that make me fall in love with a wine.  It’s a beautifully balanced blend of fruit and spices.  It opens up with cedar and nutmeg aromas, supported by cherry and black currant.  There’s no subtlety to this wine.  It’s in your face in a bold and confident way.  The palate has a slight astringency, which as I said, is typical for carignan, but the flavors are quite nice.  It has a deep, spiced black currant, blackberry and beet flavor, which evolves into cocoa on the mid-palate.  The finish lingers for an extended time, showcasing the cocoa and currant flavors, along with some black tea notes.  This wine will definitely show you something different from the everyday, in a good way.

If you’re an adventurer with your wine, I’d say this is definitely one to check out.

Wine: Meli
Variety: Carignan
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 86
Price: $15.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

I’ve commented in previous reviews that not all malbec comes from Argentina.  Today we have the opportunity to check out one from Chile, the Maule Valley region to be more specific.

This malbec is from Apaltagua, not an unfamiliar brand to us.  We’ve reviewed a few of their other wines and found them to be nice, so we were certainly curious to see what they would do with a malbec.

This malbec is definitely different from the Argentine ones we’ve tasted.  The nose has a pronounced vegetal/herbal characteristic that I would describe as a cross of green pepper and mint.  I often appreciate the complexity and character that an herbal or vegetal aroma will add to a wine, but in this case it’s a little out of balance, making it detract from rather than add to the wine.  On the positive side, it also shows some clove, plum and cherry aromas which are quite nice.

The palate offers up plum and cherry flavors with some black pepper toward the finish, which is a touch on the bitter side.  The fruit is nice, but I still find myself questioning the balance in this wine.  I’m starting to sound a little negative, so to be clear I don’t hate this wine.  But at the same time, I don’t love it.  It’s a drinkable malbec, but it just doesn’t have the balance and harmony needed to make it a great malbec.

Wine: Apaltagua Reserva
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 82
Price: $12.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Argentine malbec has become so popular recently that I get the impression that a lot of consumers assume that all malbec comes from Argentina.  But not so.  Malbec is actually actually one of the six Bordeaux varietals, although its popularity in Bordeaux has faded significantly in the past 50-some years.  It is, however, very popular in Cahors, France.  And with the popularity Argentine malbec has seen in recent years, other parts of the world are trying out this varietal more and more.  The malbec we’re reviewing today comes from the Colchagua Valley in Chile.

In general, Chilean malbec has a tendency to be more tannic than Argentine.  But this one wasn’t overly tannic and most importantly, it was good.

Sometimes when I taste a wine, I’ll visualize musical notes from the aromas, or perhaps tones is a better description, like bass, midrange and treble.  I guess it’s just a good analogy as certain scents seem to have a particular frequency.  And when a wine is balanced, the musical tones seem harmonious.  This wine is just that, harmonious.  When I smell the wine I get some blackberry aromas in the bass range, plum in the midrange and vanilla overtones in the treble.  And what makes them harmonious is that they complement each other with a perfect balance of each.

The palate offers some plum and blackberry flavors, but it lacks some of the depth I was hoping for based on the nose.  The tannins are slightly dry, giving some texture to the mouthfeel.  And the acidity is spot on, adding a little brightness to the finish.  While it’s not the richest malbec out there, it’s a decent wine for $12.

Wine: Calcu
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 85
Price:  $12.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Today we have a double-header from William Cole, with two of their 2010 pinot noir releases.  Both of these come from the Casablanca Valley, a superb cool-climate region in Chile.

2010 William Cole Albamar Pinot Noir

This wine presents some really intiguing herbal aromatics that I would describe as “stalky”.  Think dried grasses and herbs.  That’s the smell.  It also shows some tree bark, rhubarb and raspberry aromas.  On the down side, the alcohol is a bit strong on the nose.  On the palate, this wine brings rich raspberry and cranberry flavors, along with plenty of spice.  I often say that I enjoy the nose of a wine more than the palate, but in this case it’s the palate that I enjoy the most.  The nose is interesting, but the herbal characteristics are almost overbearing.  But still, this is a fun pinot noir.

Wine: William Cole Albamar
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $13.00

2010 William Cole Columbine Special Reserve Pinot Noir

Last year, we reviewed the 2009 vintage of this wine and it was outstanding.  And while the 2010 is still enjoyable, it’s not quite as good as the 2009.  This is one of those occasions when I’m reminded how much difference a vintage can make.

True to form with other Chilean pinot noir we’ve tasted this year, including the William Cole Albamar, the Columbine Special Reserve pinot noir has some very strong herbal notes on the nose.  In this wine, I would describe those aromas as a cross of tomato leaf and sage.  The nose also offers some raspberry and cherry aromas.  In the mouth, this wine is very approachable with a tasty red berry blend of raspberry, cherry and strawberry flavors.  It has a little bit of spice and mineral on the finish.  While I enjoyed this wine, the herbal fragrances are a bit intense and won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

Wine: William Cole Columbine Special Reserve
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $15.00

Disclosure: These wines were received as samples.

The weather has started to turn to autumn here and that means it’s time to start drinking some pinot noir!  Let’s start the pinot noir exploration with one from Chile.

Five years ago, if you had offered me a Chilean pinot noir I probably would have reluctantly tried it without expecting much.  But things are changing when it comes to chilean pinot.  They’ve figured out what works for pinot noir in their terroir and they’re producing some nice pinot these days.

Pinot noir is a cool climate grape and Chile’s Casablanca Valley is an exceptional cool climate appellation.  And that’s where this Veramonte pinot noir is produced.

The nose on this pinot noir is absolutely fascinating.  There’s a really intense cherry aroma, which gives a good base to the nose.  Alongside the cherry, you’ll find lots of spice and herb aromas that give this wine a lot of charcter.  It does have some mint fragrances, which were a little aggressive at first but once the wine opens up that aroma becomes more integrated and approachable.  It also has some black pepper, truffle and cola aromas.  The palate has a really nice mouth feel with cherry and raspberry flavors.  The acidity is perfect.  It finishes with a little bit of nutmeg and cherry.

Wine: Veramonte
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 88
Price:  $13.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.