Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon has develop to be an precise strain to be reckoned with on the planet of South American wine and previous.
Chile is taken under consideration a very excellent place to develop many of the hottest Bordeaux-style grapes. So what are the details behind this South American refuge of Outdated World sorts? On this final installment of the Tasting Drawback, we’ll uncover out.
What is the Tasting Drawback? The issue is a fashion to reinforce your wine palate each week with 34 wines from 12 worldwide places — The Wine Tasting Drawback.
Chile is known for its full-bodied wines, impressed and nurtured by its hotter, mediterranean-style native climate.
The Maipo Valley particularly has gained a fame for Cabernet Sauvignon which could be identical to these of Napa Valley, with notes of black currant, black cherry, fig paste, and baking spices.
I indicate, how have been we not alleged to go for that? Throughout the curiosity of attempting one factor which will very properly be compared with among the many finest recognized Cabernet areas on the planet, we jumped on the choice to grab a bottle from the Maipo Valley space.
2016 Cousiño Macul Dama de Plata
Look: Deep Ruby.
Aromas: Candied cherries, raspberries, potting soil, menthol, decrease wood, and strawberry jam.
On The Palate: Full bodied with BIG tannins. Notes of blackberry, campfire smokiness, wood, and darkish chocolate on the top. It’s Nick Offerman in a glass!
Meals Pairing: All I can think about proper right here is steak with low cost sauce and mushrooms. In actuality, the wine itself would make a tasty sauce.
What We Realized About Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon
For a really very long time, the precept grape of choice for Chile was one known as Pais: which was the Chilean title for the Spanish grape Listán Prieto.
The Spanairds have been planting wine grapes on the hills of Chile as early as a result of the sixteenth century! These wines have been (and nonetheless are!) dense, meaty, and stuffed with tannins. Think about Pais as a result of the early “house wine” of Chile.
In the end, nonetheless, winemakers began emulating the varieties of France: considerably Bordeaux. And inside the twentieth century, Chile gained a fame for fruity, easy, low cost Cabernet and Merlot.
And that fame hasn’t exactly gone anyplace, regardless that the usual ranges of Chilean wine is steadily on the uptick: with their daring, difficult Cabernet Sauvignons being invested in by numerous probably the most lauded French wine producers on the planet.
Final Impressions
After tasting the complexity and velvety texture of a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, it’s easy to see why some many Bordeaux-loving tasters have been drawn in Chile’s course.
The warmer native climate of the Maipo Valley, as an illustration, encourages the elevated physique and sugar that consequence within the large, daring pink wines we’ve come to anticipate from Napa, Bordeaux, and many totally different scorching native climate wine areas.
And the best info: whereas the rest of the wine consuming world catches up, people inside the know (i.e. you and me!) are able to get our arms on top of the range reds from Chile which could be akin to numerous the best wines on the planet at a fraction of the worth. And that’s on a regular basis value celebrating.
And that brings us to the highest of the 34 Wines 34 Weeks Tasting Drawback. Did you deal with to keep up up?
Remember: just because this assortment is over, doesn’t indicate you can’t maintain going (and even start over!).
Who says it must be the 34 Wines in 34 Weeks Drawback? Presumably you want to make a full yr of it and go for 52 Wines in 52 weeks. Nothing’s stopping you! And we positively have some fantastic wines we needed to resolve on between.
Want some examples? Listed under are one other areas and grapes to take a look at as you proceed:
Portuguese Vinho Verde
Hungarian Tokaji
German Spätburgunder
And that’s solely a drop inside the bucket. We have to see what else you’re consuming: maintain this downside going, and guarantee to utilize the hashtag #34Wines34Weeks whilst you do it!