South American Wine Blind Tasting

WLTV offline where we decided to get together and portray some of the finer elements that South American wine makers had to offer.

• 2005 Luca Malbec 90 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco

  Sight: Purple/dark red clarified wine
  
  Nose: dark red fruits accompanied by oak. Seemed unusual to have this amount of fruit in such a heavy wine. It just seemed that way to me based on the feel and smell. Some rose florals followed by additional waves of red fruits.
  
  Taste: Soft, tannin on the back end. Finish is fairly long. Some chocolate and cola notes.
  
  Overall: a fine wine and it is approachable now. 90 points.

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• 2003 Bodega Familia Schroeder Pinot Noir Saurus 91 Points

  Argentina, Patagonia

  Sight: Appealing dark and sensuous color
  
  Nose: Some heat on the nose - also some type of "off smell" that later blew off
  
  Taste: Real good taste. Coke, cherry, dark red and black tree fruits. Burned toast.
  
  Overall: Just a very nice wine. 91 points

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• 2005 Viñedos Errázuriz Ovalle Carménère Panilonco 85 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

  Sight: dark mysterious wine
  
  Nose: Not revealing too much, some cherry and maybe some hidden plum notes and some spices
  
  Taste: Crowd pleaser wine. Simple, does the job in an industrious sort of way in a non-offensive manner.
  
  Overall: Acceptable banquet wine. 85 points.

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• 2002 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 91 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Sight: A dark and inky wine of medium viscosity. Appears to be a clarified wine, however it is fairly dense and could not really tell with the lighting.
  
  Nose: An array of dark fruits consisting of dark cherries, blackberries, some cassis followed up with notes of oak. Tobacco notes also made an appearance with some meat and spice notes.
  
  Taste: Significant amounts of fruit and racy acidity paired with strong tannins. Maybe slilghtly austere, but it has a very nice and seductive finish. When drinking this one becomes aware that this is still young, perhaps too you, but nonetheless that this will age nicely and has been built for the long haul. This wne excellent with the steak pairings at the restaurant (and this wine stood up steadfast to the chimichurri.
  
  Overal: Great wine and will be even better with 2 to 4 more years of age. 91 Points.

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• 2000 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 93 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Sight: Dark red wine with some purple-ish tones. Somewhat cloudy of a wine with a medium viscosity appearing to be slightly glycerol.
  
  Nose: Blackcurrants, cranberries, blackberries. A little bit of microbiological notes going in - some horsey notes. A little of wood resin notes - oak and cedar with pencil shavings. Some earhty notes made me believe that this could be mistaken for a bordeaux. Some cracked chocolate coming in and out as well.
  
  Taste: Dark red and black tree and bush fruits combined with cedar and spicy notes of black pepper and anise.
  
  Overall: Still slightly young, but a very very nice wine. Really impressive. I think this could be a 94 pointer with 1-2 more years on it. 92-93 points.

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• 2000 San Pedro de Yacochuya Yacochuya 89 Points

  Argentina, Valles Calchaquíes, Salta, Cafayate

  Sight: A very dark and inky colored wine. Almost impenetrable by light (in dim restaurant). Medium low viscosity. Gives the impression of a heavy bodied wine.
  
  Nose: Dark bush fruits that come across the nose like blackberries, cassis, and blackcurrant. Some microbiological notes along with some earthy notes of dust.
  
  Taste: Dark fruit jam on the attack followed up by white sour and white cherries escorted by soem gooseberry/raspberry taste. Toasted oak and spice notes of telicherry peppers. The mid-palate is probably the weak point. Great attach and very good finish.
  
  Overall: A steadfast wine that does not pretend to be wearing a tuxedo. May develop some finesse with a little bit of aging. For now, this is as tough as a wine like Pavie Macquin. Great for standing up to lamb or other game. 89 points.

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• 2004 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Catena Alta 92 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza

  Sight: A very dark wine that gives a rich impression. Medium low viscosity.
  
  Nose: Nice mixture of dark tree and shrub fruits comes across first. Some bittersweete chocolate notes and some mishroom smells and maybe some attic mustiness. A flirtation with anise here and there as well.
  
  Taste: A big boy. Blue fruits like blueberry and plums. Rich loamy mouthfeel that finishes fairly long. Good balance on attack, mid palate, and finish. Taninns still have good grip so there is some aging ability too.
  
  Overall: Very nice wine that is balanced well. 92 points.

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Really impressed with malbec and the upper end chileans. Need to search out more of these!