inky dark purple with medium plus body; some sediment in the bottle. the nose leads with a gamey funk and then shows ripe black fruit (lots of it), green bell pepper, and menthol/eucalyptus. big and bold in the mouth, it is lifted by a fresh acidity and anchored by moderate tannins. the concentrated fruit flavours are enjoyable, spicy, and herbal overtones that oscillate between slightly sweet and savoury. long finish.
in the big style of the Lapostolle house but with a new-found freshness, this wine is most at home with some hearty and flavourful fare. also, give it wine lots of air; notes are from day two, when it showed best. no rush to drink, as this can go on for quite a while still
14.5% AbV; 95% Carmenère/ 5% Syrah, from the Apalta vineyards, including ~20% from very old vines that yield good complexity (and are used in the Clos Apalta wine); thirteen months in French oak (30% new)
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Deep, inky ruby color with a time of blue. The nose is intriguing with notes of bramble berry, jerky, and black pepper. There’s medium body and acid; med+ tannins. The finish of the wine is bright with cherry and vanilla.
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12th Anniversary dinner for Mrs. Knurd and I, bottle purchase at Catalan (Cary NC). The dark purple color definitely lets you know what you are in for- intensity. Nose and palate are bold, earthy, and spicy with some bright floral juxtaposition on the nose (violets and lilac came to mind, not sure if I was influenced by the color or not) and a smoky, gamey note on the palate. Classic Chilean white pepper and ashy, gunpowder finish. Big boy at 14.5% and definitely enjoyable. $60 is about your standard 3x-ish establishment markup and I thought it was a solid example of Chilean Carmenere. High B+ (89) for me as a restaurant bottle purchase (better bottles on the list but would be hard for me to pass up if I got the lamb barbacoa again). Nice to see Catalan offering unique wines like this, I am sure many folks might pass on the grape and price but perfect if you want to mix things up and go outside of your wine comfort zone (old world for da' Knurd).
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Very dark garnet/purple. Black fruit, green bell pepper and a bit of game on the nose. Mouthfeel is medium with intense tannins and acidity. Opened up well with decanting. Clean finish. Bold wine.
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Opaque, purple color color staining the glass (and the teeth... shhhh!). Nose of cocoa, mocha, damp earth, violets, rose, some blackberry but fruit descriptors aren’t obvious in this wine. The attack is savory, chocolate dominates the palate and some floral quality. Some acidity making the wine linger, tannins are well present and ripe, quite full bodied, 14.5 abv.
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8/15/2023 - WindFlyer Likes this wine: 90 Points
inky dark purple with medium plus body; some sediment in the bottle. the nose leads with a gamey funk and then shows ripe black fruit (lots of it), green bell pepper, and menthol/eucalyptus. big and bold in the mouth, it is lifted by a fresh acidity and anchored by moderate tannins. the concentrated fruit flavours are enjoyable, spicy, and herbal overtones that oscillate between slightly sweet and savoury. long finish.
in the big style of the Lapostolle house but with a new-found freshness, this wine is most at home with some hearty and flavourful fare. also, give it wine lots of air; notes are from day two, when it showed best. no rush to drink, as this can go on for quite a while still
14.5% AbV; 95% Carmenère/ 5% Syrah, from the Apalta vineyards, including ~20% from very old vines that yield good complexity (and are used in the Clos Apalta wine); thirteen months in French oak (30% new)
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11/8/2021 - Mi Pisco Likes this wine: 90 Points
A very nice wine and will not break the bank. I gave it a 90 and other reviewers gave it higher marks and some lower in thehigh 80's.
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5/13/2021 - Vin_geek Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep, inky ruby color with a time of blue. The nose is intriguing with notes of bramble berry, jerky, and black pepper. There’s medium body and acid; med+ tannins. The finish of the wine is bright with cherry and vanilla.
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2/20/2021 - WineKnurd Likes this wine: 89 Points
12th Anniversary dinner for Mrs. Knurd and I, bottle purchase at Catalan (Cary NC). The dark purple color definitely lets you know what you are in for- intensity. Nose and palate are bold, earthy, and spicy with some bright floral juxtaposition on the nose (violets and lilac came to mind, not sure if I was influenced by the color or not) and a smoky, gamey note on the palate. Classic Chilean white pepper and ashy, gunpowder finish. Big boy at 14.5% and definitely enjoyable. $60 is about your standard 3x-ish establishment markup and I thought it was a solid example of Chilean Carmenere. High B+ (89) for me as a restaurant bottle purchase (better bottles on the list but would be hard for me to pass up if I got the lamb barbacoa again). Nice to see Catalan offering unique wines like this, I am sure many folks might pass on the grape and price but perfect if you want to mix things up and go outside of your wine comfort zone (old world for da' Knurd).
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2/8/2021 - OnTheVine.blog Likes this wine: 87 Points
Very dark garnet/purple. Black fruit, green bell pepper and a bit of game on the nose. Mouthfeel is medium with intense tannins and acidity. Opened up well with decanting. Clean finish. Bold wine.
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12/4/2020 - Monsieur Grenache Likes this wine: 89 Points
Opaque, purple color color staining the glass (and the teeth... shhhh!). Nose of cocoa, mocha, damp earth, violets, rose, some blackberry but fruit descriptors aren’t obvious in this wine. The attack is savory, chocolate dominates the palate and some floral quality. Some acidity making the wine linger, tannins are well present and ripe, quite full bodied, 14.5 abv.
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