Santa Ema Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

When I’m not enjoying a bargain wine, in other words when I splurge, I have a preference for Italian wines, especially those from the Piedmont region.  If you know wines from this region, you know that many of them have exceptional depth, structure, complexity and balance.  Simply put, they’re beautiful wines.  Most of them don’t come cheap, so I’m not able to enjoy them every day.  But given my affinity for both Piedmont and Chilean wines, it caught my eye when I saw that this Chilean wine has roots from Piedmont.  The founder of Santa Ema, Pedro Pavone Voglino, immigrated from Piedmont to Chile in 1917.  He was the son of an Italian winemaker and planted his first vineyards in Chile in 1931.

While that might not tell you anything about the wine, there is more to enjoying wine than just looking, smelling and tasting.  Enjoying wine is an experience.  There’s a ritual involved, like the whole process of pulling the cork, pouring, swirling.  And there’s an emotional element.  We develop a fondness for certain types of wine, regions, winemakers, brands, etc.  For me, finding a wine with connections to both Piedmont and Chile sparked a fondness for both regions, and a curiosity.

I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed.  This is a really nice wine.

I love the aroma profile of this wine. It has the balance between earth and fruit that I think makes a wine interesting.  It’s slightly herbal too.  Sage, coffee, cocoa raspberry and blackberry make for an interesting bouquet.  The palate has solid blackberry, cassis and raspberry flavors, along with nice, smooth tannins and near-perfect acidity.  It’s a good wine.

Wine: Santa Ema Reserve
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 89
Price: $12.99

Find Santa Ema Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with Snooth

Now, what regions, winemakers and brands do you have a fondness for?