Tag Archives: Cachapoal

Anakena – 12/12/2011

Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Leyda)
Lovely bright fresh style, clean crisp quite fruity, has some herb notes on nose, but not on palate.

Single Vineyard Viognier 2009 (Rapel Valley)
Nicely developed on the nose, picking up some spiced dried apricot and crushed herbs. Lovely textural richness, great development in the bottle.

Single Vineyard Riesling 2010 (Leyda)
Very clean and crisp, good acids and citric notes, lacks minerality and depth, no texture or residual sugar for weight.

Single Vineyard Carignan San javier 2010 (Maule)
Very closed nose, quite flat and broad, too hot for the variety, nor structure or depth.

Single Vineyard Syrah 2009 (Colchagua)
A bit chocolatey, slightly cooked dark plum, hints of spice, plummy juicy, lacks drive.

Ona Malbec 2009 (Rapel)
Good weight and depth, nice dark fruit broodiness, a little soft and broad, pretty good for the price.

Ona Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere Syrah 2009
Red fruit currants, intriguing blend, texture and mouthfeel, still lacking something.

Anakena wines

Anakena wines

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De Martino – 28/11/2011

Legada Reserva Chardonnay 2011
Nice rich sulphurous pineapple toast. Quite soft and rich, full frtuiy and toasty but not fat nor hot.

Viejas Tinajas Cinsault 2011 (Itata Valley)
Great spice, tight green pepper. Superb balance and great acidity. Made partially through carbonic maceration in amphorae.

Alto de Piedras Carmenere 2009
Quite juicy nose, fairly earthy savoury fruit. A little meaty, nice red fruit, not heavy but full flavour.

Legado Reserva Syrah 2010
Juicy blackberry spice, very light and clean. Lacks a little depth but easy drinking, not simple, refreshing.

Legado Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Great roasted capsicum. Good depth and weight, nice balance of fruit and savoury, good character.

Las Cruces 2008 (Old bush vine field blend)
Very bright dark fruit, interesting texture, ripe banana peel and some bottled aged character.

Alto los Toros Srah 2008
Very subtle aromas. Intense bright acids and tannins, young and shy, much more structure and balance, a truly great wine.

De Martino wines

De Martino wines

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My timing is off… (Curico, Maule & Cachapoal Valleys, Chile)

When I was planning my trip, calculating where I wanted to go and how long to spend there, I was generally looking at maps in the World Atlas of Wine, and plotting a course. The dates I put into my itinerary would often have little relevance, apart from being in regions during the week (to try to meet with winemakers/owners), and weekends in cities. This meant I wasn’t taking into account any public holidays in each individual country, and have come up against some complications. There is a national holiday that is celebrated in many South American countries on the 8th of December, to commemorate the Virgin Mary. As it fell on a Thursday this year many people didn’t work on the Friday and took a four-day weekend. So partly for this reason, I had no appointments for four days. This put a bit of a crimp on my travels, so all I could really do was drive through the regions.

Cachapoal Valley

Cachapoal Valley

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