Santa Carolina Pinot Noir – Casablanca Estate Reserva

Five years ago, when I launched this site, I wasn’t sold on Chilean pinot noir.  They had produced a couple decent ones, but for the most part it was lacking.  But my how things have changed.  In the last 10-15 years the quality of wines coming from Chile has increased significantly and while pinot noir was a bit of a laggard on the Chilean evolution, it’s come around in the last few years and they’re consistently producing some tasty pinot noir now.

This one comes from Santa Carolina, a pretty big producer in Chile with 2,000 hectares of vineyards.  It comes from the Casablanca Valley, one of the best cool-climate regions in Chile and is part of the Santa Carolina “Reserva” line of wines—their entry-level priced series.

This wine has really nice aromas, such as raspberry and plum with intense spice, which I would describe as a combination of cola and black pepper.  The intensity on the nose is also pretty good. The palate offers raspberry, tart cherry and plum flavors up front, with a touch of raspberry tea on the mid-palate.  The acidity is perfect.  The mouth feel is nice, but nothing exceptional.  It finishes long with cherry and cranberry flavors.  This is a really good pinot noir for the price.

Wine: Santa Carolina Casablanca Estate Reserva
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2011
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 87
Price: $12.00

Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.