2010 Viña Valdivieso Cabernet Franc Single Vineyard Reserve

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 89 points

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  9/16/2014 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points

  Quite deep and moderately dark, yet still quite translucent raspberry red color. Very open and expressive nose with intense, complex aromas of cooked bell pepper, ripe and moderately sweet blackcurrant, some smoky toasted oak character, a little bit of fragrant floral character and a savory hint of pencil shavings. The nose here really took me by surprise: I was expecting to find another jammy and over-oaked Chilean red, but this was very varietally pure, reminding me of a warmer-vintage Chinon or Saumur-Champigny. The wine is dry, quite light-to-medium-bodied and moderately bitter on the palate with intense, tightly-knit flavors of bell pepper, fresh and more savory than sweet blackcurrants, some sweet oak spice, a little bit of tobacco and a hint of blackberry jam without any excess weight or flabbiness. The wine is well-balanced with rather high acidity and lightly grippy medium tannins. The alcohol pushes a bit through, giving the wine some sense of richness and moderate warmth to the palate. The finish is a bit more oaky with flavors of bittersweet dark chocolate and toasty Cognac oak spice along with flavors of cooked bell pepper, some ripe and sweet blackcurrant-driven fruit and a hint of crunchy red fruits. The tannins lend a moderately grippy touch to the aftertaste whereas the alcohol makes the wine end on a somewhat warm note.
  
  A remarkably well-made, balanced and varietally true Chilean Cabernet Franc - perhaps the first of its kind that I've had! There is still some Chilean typicity here, i.e. the fruit borders on jammy at some point, the use of new oak is quite overwhelming - especially towards the aftertaste - and the alcohol feels rather high. Still, unlike so many other Chilean Cabernet Francs I've hade, this was a very obviously Cabernet Franc in style, up to the point that I would've guessed it was a modern Loire valley Cabernet Franc from a warmer vintage, if served blind. Especially the structure and the modest body are what set this wine apart from its peers - this wine feels quite harmonious and well-balanced on the palate with no sense of excess weight. Overall I was enjoying this wine quite a bit; hopefully some cellar age might help in integrating the sweeter oak tones underneath the fruit. This was hands down one of the best Chilean reds I've had in a long time. Recommended.

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