Chile

 A collaboration between Bruno Prats (former Cos d'Estournel director), Paul Pontallier, Ghislaine de Montgolfier and Felipe de Solminihac, a former winemaker at Cousiño Macul   It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Peñalolén, a commune that borders Santiago de Chile at a height of 2,300 feet in the Maipo Andes.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cassis, hay, black cherries and char.  Medium tannins that are a bit drying.  On the palate, cassis, black cherries, menthol with lively acidity.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue for the next five to seven year

This is 100% Cabernet sauvignon from Chile but the grapes are from two different areas;  70% of the grapes are from the Los Lingues DO in the Colchagua Andes; 30% hail from the “Between the Ranges” (Entre Cordilleras) Marchigüe DO.  The result is a bit lighter styled but still delicious Cabernet.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, some cassis and char.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, cherries and black cherries with underlying char.  Long finish.  Clean.  This is drinking well now and should continue for the next four to six years.  It is nice on its

This is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah and 5% Carménère, from the far west of the Colchagua Valley in the Peralillo DO.  Gran Reserva in Chile means at  least 12.5% abv and that the wine sees some oak.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cassis with an earthy forest floor notes.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, it starts off slightly sweet before settling in to a pretty cassis, root beer and anise midpalate.  A bit of menthol on the long finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue over the next five to seven years.  It wil

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo Andes on the edge of the Pirque DO, at the foot of the mountain at a height of 792 m/2,600 feet.  Miguel Torres is one of the largest wineries in Spain, but they also have long had a Chilean branch.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is tight at first but with air shows spice, plums, light cassis and char.  This is full bodied with a velvety texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black cherries and plums with underlying char.  The finish has a bit of warmth and plenty of black cherry fruit.  This improved over a few hours, so

A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah and 5% de Carménère from Chada, Paine, “Between the Ranges” (Entre Cordilleras) in Maipo.

This is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has baking spice, cassis and char.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this has black cherries and cassis.  Some complexity but very tightly wound.  A bitter note on the finish.  This is still very young and tight and will undoubtedly improve over the next five to ten years.  It should drink well for another ten to fifteen after that.  If drinking now, give it a very long decant (8 hours?).  This will work with big fatty foods such as prime rib and does d

This is 85%Carménère, 10% Tempranillo, and 5% Petit Verdot.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries raspberries, cranberries along side green peppers and a slight rosemary note.  Also some spice.  Medium tannins.  Complex.  Tight layers unwind in the glass.  On the palate, cherries, cranberries intertwined with black raspberries and char.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This should drink well for another eight to twelve years.  This will work well with roasted fowl.  The label says duck or also ratatouille, and that seems like a good suggestion.  

This is a blend of 42% Syrah, 39% Carmenere, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Garnacha, 3% Malbec, 1% Tempranillo, and 1% Mourvedre.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has boysenberries, black pepper, black cherries and spice.  Very smooth yet varietally complex on the palate.  Light tannins.  Notes of boysenberries and black cherries with underlying char.  Long finish.  This is quite tasty.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  Nice on its own, this is even better with food.  Steak, chops or ribs off the grill is a nice choice.  

Usually I think of Argentina for Malbecs, but this one is from Chile.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has plums, raspberries, char and spice.  Great silky but lush texture.  On the palate, more cherries than black raspberries, black cherries and plums with underlying car.  Slight bitter cherries (in a good way on the finish).  This is drinking great now and should last for another ten to twelve years.  Drink on its own or with food, pork chops would be a nice match. Excellent value.  

This is Cabernet Sauvignon 94.5%, Carmenere 3%, and Syrah 2.5%.  Purple at the core with ruby color at the outside, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries, cassis and slight pencil lead and cedar.  Full bodied.  On the palate, black cherries, cassis and char.  Slightly complex.  Nice balance.  Long finish.  This should improve a bit over the next year or two and drink well for seven to ten more after that.  A truly excellent value in Cabernet.  Delicious on its own, this will work well with roasted vegetables, meats or fowl.