The Auswine Forum

Back from the wilds of South America, Chile, Peru and Bolivia. We spent a lot of time at altitude which absolutely sapped our desire for alcohol, but we did try a few wines. We also have some top quality goodies still to try courtesy of our duty free allowance.

Heres what we tasted:

2002 Santa Rita Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca Valley, Chile

Yep, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, and a beaut too.

This immediately smells like barrell ferment, with that musky, oyster like character mingled with some steely, flinty tones and ineapple fruit. The palate follows correctly in the minerally style, this is not a NZ fruit bomb. Gooseberry fruit and some pineapple hints again. Taut acid, beautiful balance, and exceptional length. Lovely. 90/100.

2003 Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon

Australians arent the only ones with propensities for very long names!

This is worth less than $US4.00 in Chile, and for that money it is a beaut. Lots of juicy forest berry fruit, reasonable length, nicely formed tannins. Not overly complex, but for this money who cares? Eminently slurpable, and we drank this a few times on our journey through Chile, Peru and Bolivia. Scored, 86, 86, and 84 on 3 separate occasions.

No wonder Chilean wines do well in the value stakes. IMO this craps all over Jacobs Creek, etc in this price bracket.

There was also an 04 Sauvignon Blanc which I rated above 80/100 at the same money.

Maipo Valley, Chile. (Central Valley for the Sauv Blanc)

2003 Casa Silva Riserva Cabernet Sauvignon

Tobacco leaf, chocolate and recurrant. Quite pooey initially but this blew off with time, but there remains some metallic element which i think is brett. No minty, greenness that we often associate with Cabernet here. the tannin structure is very Cabernet with the attack at the frontof the mouth, and the palate has the varietal mid palate hole.

All correct and very nice without being better than good. 86/100.

Colchagua Valley, Chile. 14% abv.

2003 Casa Silva Riserva Carmenere

My first Carmenere, and perhaps my last.

This was also horsey and metallic. I wonder if there is a general brett issue in this winery.

White pepper and plum with forest berries on the nose. In the mouth this is all front and middle palate, and is middle weight only. Pepper and forest berries again. Soft tannins, well integrated, no need to age at all. Pleasant drinking but just not interesting. 80/100.

Colchagua Valley, Chile. 13.5% abv.

Wine drinkig isnt really part of the local culture except in Chile. Spirits are much more in vogue. We also drank a fair bit of Pisco, which is more or less the local brandy. Some of it is very good, expecialy in the form of a good Pisco Sour.

Altitude really messes with your head and your alcohol tolerance. On Lake Titicaca (3,800m), half a bottle gave us the same hangover we normally get from two bottles!
We have some goodies to try sometime soon thanks to our duty free allowance (Concha y Toro Don Melchor, Alma Viva and a couple of others). I'll post on these as we try them,

AB

how was Bolivia? Seems like you have managed to avoid the worst of Indian protests...
Have you been to Machu Pichu?

Serge wrote:how was Bolivia? Seems like you have managed to avoid the worst of Indian protests...
Have you been to Machu Pichu?

We're back home now.

No sign at all of the recent unrest in Bolivia, everything seemed back to normal although tourist numbers are way down. We were staying at the Europa, supposedly best hotel in La Paz, and there were about 6 people there. La Paz is a fascinating and very sad place. Bolivia has a pretty tagic history al round. A shame, the place has potential but I dont think it will ever be realised. Some media reports call the country ungovernable. i think they are pretty close to right.

Tihuanaco was disappointing, mainly because it has been substantially rebuilt after the british raided it for stone for railways, etc.

Machu Picchu was the highlight of the trip. Yes, it looks like all the photos in the brochures, but these really dont do it justice. It is quite magical.

I haven't organised webspace for any photos yet.

We saw Peruvian and Bolivian wine, but while we were at altitude, we had no appetite for alcohol at all, and these didnt look like exciting prospects!

AB

You'd better save something good for your next trip to Adelaide.....if you ever get here!

Good job I'm trustworthy with that Kaesler Old Vine.

Its getting harder Steve. The usual trip I make was squashed by the powers that be at work this year, aside from it coinciding with the holiday .

AB

Hi there Wizz.
Picked up a bottle of the 2001 Concha y Toro Don Melchor US35.00 Heard differing opinions on this drop apart from the 95 by Parker. The wine shop says some bring it back and others return for a case, very differing opinions. I'll be interested in when you plan to open it up as I'll probably open the '01 soon to see if it's worth getting a case. I'm hearing Chile is doing some good wines (in the lower price range). Do you know if the 2001 Concha y Toro Don Melchor is a good one for the cellar? (I've just built a cellar and starting to load it up).

Hi Jersey,

I'm hoping I can get a tasting together to compare the Chileans I have to similar priced Australians and maybe Bordeaux, and I'll post notes if I can get the tasting together. I hear 2001 was very good throughout Chile, but beyond that I dont know. Thanks for the Parker heads up too, I dont really follow his scoring and I didnt know he rated this wine that high!

$US35 sounds pretty good - I paid $US44 duty free and this seemed cheaper than retail in Chile. Alma Viva apparently goes for north of $US100, duty free price $US77.

Cheers

Andrew

Wizz

I've said it before on here and I'll say it again, the Chileans are coming! I live in Canada, and in the last few years the amount of shelf space in the govt owned stores dedicated to Chilean wine has grown dramatically, and $ for $ the Chilean wines beat the pants off their Aussie counterpartts. Fair's fair, most of the Aus wines we get here are Rosecorp & Beringer Blass bottom end, overly sweet rubbish BUT the Chilean stuff directly opposite (often at lower prices) actually has varietal character, structure and might live a few years in bottle or more.

Concha Y Toro are a case in point, you said nice things about their Casillero Del Diablo Cab (which retails here for $12) but if you go up to the high teens price range I think that there Marques de Casa Concha range is one of the best value ranges of wines on earth. In good vintages the Cab and the Merlot are outstanding and the Chardonnay is v v tasty but I think the real star of the future for Chile is Syrah, the Casilerro Del Diablo Syrah is outstanding at $12 but the Marques de Casa Concha at about $20 blows aways an awful lot of Aussie names at that price point. The other scary thing is that a lot of these wines are produced from very young vines, god knows how good they'll taste when the vines mature. They already taste very very good, certainly more in the style of the Rhone than the Riverina! They also know how to control the oak.

You and Jersey also mentioned the higher end stuff, which also show real potential. Montes Alpha is superb and I agree on the Don Melchor, however (and this is only my opinion Jersey) you would be making a mistake opening the 2001 Don Melchor yet..it's still far too young to be an enjoyable drink. It has loads of potential and will be a classic in time but it's way too young. I have lots of the 1999 Don Melchor and that still isn't really that approachable at all.

Sorry for the long ramble, but I think that the boring dross that arrives in a lot of the world with a Lindemans, Rosemout, Penfolds or Wolf Blass label at about $10-$15 a bottle (and I'll throw in cuddly marsupials, penguins and god knows whatever other charismatic vertebrate they can slap on a label) has got a lot to fear from Chile i.e much better wines at much better prices. Here's hoping the Chileans might make some other winemakers improve their game.

Cheers

M

Hey Wizz,
I guess the duty is so low in the U.S it's not really something they talk about here. I've found most the wines I picked up at the Sydney air port Duty fre were cheaper here. Look hard enough any way. Got a case of '01 Petaluma Cabernet Merlot for $25.00 a bottle. Apparently less than cost?.
Check out the reviews at...
http://winechateau.com/concha_y_toro_do ... t_wine.asp
http://winechateau.com/concha_y_toro_almaviva_wine.asp
I hope it's OK to post this link, it's a local cellar (in New Jersey USA) with the full tasting notes, the score is actually from wine spectator, not parker ''ápologies''. It mentions the Almaviva also wich also scored a 95! and that the Don Will be interesting. Aparently very good for the cellar but also graet now. I'll try to grab a bottle of the Almaviva too and attempt to give a TN and score. Itll be a couple of weeks away though (I'm over my monthly wine budget allready).
Cheers,
Mick.

Martin Phillipson wrote:
I've said it before on here and I'll say it again, the Chileans are coming! I live in Canada, and in the last few years the amount of shelf space in the govt owned stores dedicated to Chilean wine has grown dramatically, and $ for $ the Chilean wines beat the pants off their Aussie counterpartts. Fair's fair, most of the Aus wines we get here are Rosecorp & Beringer Blass bottom end, overly sweet rubbish BUT the Chilean stuff directly opposite (often at lower prices) actually has varietal character, structure and might live a few years in bottle or more.

Based on the tiny sample I saw, I wondered if this was the case. Your comparison is exactly the way I saw things at equivalent pricepoints - sweet industrialised muck from Aus at the lower end against real wine from the Chilenos. As an example at the bottom end, the stuff LAN Chile serve in economy class absolutely craps all over the Lindemans Bin 50 Qantas serve.

Martin Phillipson wrote:Concha Y Toro are a case in point, you said nice things about their Casillero Del Diablo Cab (which retails here for $12) but if you go up to the high teens price range I think that there Marques de Casa Concha range is one of the best value ranges of wines on earth. In good vintages the Cab and the Merlot are outstanding and the Chardonnay is v v tasty but I think the real star of the future for Chile is Syrah, the Casilerro Del Diablo Syrah is outstanding at $12 but the Marques de Casa Concha at about $20 blows aways an awful lot of Aussie names at that price point. The other scary thing is that a lot of these wines are produced from very young vines, god knows how good they'll taste when the vines mature. They already taste very very good, certainly more in the style of the Rhone than the Riverina! They also know how to control the oak.

Scary. IMO this is the point where Aus gear starts to get serious, and if we are being whipped here we might be in trouble. Interesting call on Syrah, it seems to be a potential star just about everywhere! From what we got to know about the Maipo and Casablanca valleys, I could understand how it could succeed there, and yet produce different wines altogether in other places such as the Colchagua valley which I understnad is higher and hillier.

Martin Phillipson wrote:You and Jersey also mentioned the higher end stuff, which also show real potential. Montes Alpha is superb and I agree on the Don Melchor, however (and this is only my opinion Jersey) you would be making a mistake opening the 2001 Don Melchor yet..it's still far too young to be an enjoyable drink. It has loads of potential and will be a classic in time but it's way too young. I have lots of the 1999 Don Melchor and that still isn't really that approachable at all.

I didnt get any Montes Alpha! Seemed to be hard to get hold of. Sounds like lots of decanting if we do a tasting of these anytime soon.

Martin Phillipson wrote:...Here's hoping the Chileans might make some other winemakers improve their game.

And heres hoping Australia reacts the right way, and don't head down the insular route that the French are still recovering from!

In hindsight I'm sorry I didnt try more stuff, but altitude sickness, lack of time really and limited wine lists stopped us.

Thanks for those comments Martin. Its a bit difficult for an Aussie to come home and say "holy crap we might be in trouble" on a sample of 4 or 5 wines, but your thoughts echo my limited experience.

AB

Well the results are in...
Don Melchor Out of the cellar at 65' F. Cut the foil off the top and oh no! To my horror there is a red stain on top of the cork, pull the cork and sure enough there has been leekage, slight, but a leakage none the less. Major concern sets in , oh well I say to my self, if it's no good I'll return it with the cork and start again, I poor it into the decanter in any case...

First impression... way too sweet (immediately after opening and pooring into decanter 0 breathing time). Not much on the nose but alchohol. mmm maybe spoilt.

Second impression (20 min's in decanter) - after firing up the BBQ and putting the rack of lamb on, different wine?! Did my wife throw out the Don Melchor and put something else in the decanter ??? No! it's opening up to show good fruit, alchohol on the nose subsiding. Glass gone, holding back to wait for meal, maybe it's going to come around...

3rd impression. (10 minutes after second taste, 30 min's in decanter) picked up the empty glass and the aroma's were undeniable...this is gonna get better and better, fruit, lots of fruit, alchohol- lots of it but definitely balanced, certainly not over whelming @ 14%. mmm great nose, poor a little more and yes the nose is good...

4th impression, lamb is served with reduced red wine sauce, 1 hr passes since pooring into decanter, oh this is good, starting to try and compare to my fav Aussie wines, it could easily be one of them. I'm a happy diner. Try the lamb with the mint sauce and wow, the wine suits perfectly and lifts the meal.

Dinner is over, I've just had a rasberry liquorice stick (kids made me do it) back to the Don and... wow it goes great with that too.

I still have about 2 glasses left, 2 hrs and there is a glass left (I'm sipping it now to make it last). My wife said it was great, refuses to compare it to our Aussie wines and just says they're all different, they're all good.

My tongue gets a little fuzzyness each mouth full, velvety texture and quite wonderful, is this the acidity? simmilar to the feel on my tongue after a great NZ Sauvignon Blanc (my wifes favorite wine)? My complaint, it's 20:30 and this leaves me wanting more, alas I have but the one bottle!

So there it is. My first TN.I know it's not the usual break down of Plums Rasberries, subtle tannins etc but I know a good one and this certainly is. If it improves over the next several years as it did over the past 3 hrs this is an exceptional value. No doubt I am back to get a case

So there we have it, my next months budget is spent on '01 Don Melchor.
Note: Colour is a rusty colour, not at all clear, hardly any sediment in the decanter, plenty in my glass, obviously there, but hasnt setteled yet, does not bother in the least. This is by far the most improving wine I have had, that is, from dissapointing first taste to, definitely will buy a case and I'm wondering was there a hole in my glass / decanter?
Don't be afraid to open it, as my wife said, "this is really easy to drink" (she's not a big red drinker)
It's now 9:00 pm, time passed as I wrote this and now clearly smokiness pops up, I could swear this is again a different wine.
Wizz, IMHO enjoy your Don Melchor. I certainly did enjoy mine.
Hope this helps you in your quest.
p.s Martin, your opinion about this wine not being ready to open put's a lot of weight on the potential of this wine and a lot of credibility on your opinion of Chilean wines. Feel free to throw out a couple of recomendations in the $20 - $40 range.
Cheers,
Mick.

Thanks Mick, thats a good note. I'm looking forward to it now! I'm often quick to post while I'm still drinking the bottle and the wine changes a lot before the end.

Keep posting on the things you try, I'm sure the crew here would love to see more notes,

AB

Just remember airport DUTY-FREE's don't claim to be "PROFIT-FREE"

In Australia, as with most other places, wines (not spirits) are as much if not higher in price at the duty free stores -- ridiculous!

I buy my Chilean wines in Singapore (of all places) - even with a SING$7 per bottle excise + 5% GST, prices are as good or better than USA discount stores for the premium+ reds. A friend and I just bought TEN dozen bottles there... now slowly bringing them back to OZ or drinking while we are vacationing!

Exception : Dan Murphy directly importing MONTES wines and CyT Don Melchor -- they have good prices on the range - and had good availability of Montes Alpha and Don Melchor, but I have run dry on sources (stores) that still have Montes Folly or Montes Alpha M ... and have not found Montes PURPLE ANGEL in Oz yet ?? Any sightings ? It is a superb wine.

Jersey wrote:Hey Wizz,
I guess the duty is so low in the U.S it's not really something they talk about here. I've found most the wines I picked up at the Sydney air port Duty fre were cheaper here. Look hard enough any way. Got a case of '01 Petaluma Cabernet Merlot for $25.00 a bottle. Apparently less than cost?.
Check out the reviews at...
http://winechateau.com/concha_y_toro_do ... t_wine.asp
http://winechateau.com/concha_y_toro_almaviva_wine.asp
I hope it's OK to post this link, it's a local cellar (in New Jersey USA) with the full tasting notes, the score is actually from wine spectator, not parker ''ápologies''. It mentions the Almaviva also wich also scored a 95! and that the Don Will be interesting. Aparently very good for the cellar but also graet now. I'll try to grab a bottle of the Almaviva too and attempt to give a TN and score. Itll be a couple of weeks away though (I'm over my monthly wine budget allready).
Cheers,
Mick.