2010 Santa Carolina Reserva Pinot Noir

Continuing through my exploration of the Santa Carolina wines I was sent, this post explores their 2010 pinot noir from the Maule Valley. Previously I've sampled the Reserva bottling of their carmenere and the Reserva de Familia cabernet sauvignon.

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I love the color of the 2010 pinot, it's this lovely shade of purple that you can see right through. To me the color conveys a sense of balanced intensity with a delicate nature. Very, very appealing to at least one of my senses, so naturally I couldn't want to see how this Santa Carolina did with the others.

The aromas coming out of the glass are beautiful, loads of ripe red berries with a streak of green herbs running through them. Some noticeable earthy notes that surprised me, not what I expect from Chile. Dried violet petals and a hint of warm oak round out a complex but restrained nose. If the wine tastes half as good as it smells, I'll consider it a winner.

After tasting through the 2010 Santa Carolina, I think it's a riper style than say something from France. I tasted some good, linear flavors of earth and bramble. Mixing in with that was a nice black fruit flavor, like black raspberries and plums. I thought I could even pick up the oak too, but it wasn't distracting at all. There's definitely some weight on the palate from the 14.5% alcohol level, I figured it could be about 1% less and the wine would still be delicious, just going in a slightly different direction. While some Chilean wines I've tasted can go the distance with age, the 2010 pinot is ready to go now and for the next year or two.

Robert Parker gave this one an 88 points and I'm inclined to agree, it's a B+ and a BUY recommendation. You can find it distributed in almost every state, I'd contact Carolina Wine Brands and ask them who sells it in your area. For a suggested retail of about $10, it beats many California pinots but doesn't quite stand up to something like the 2009 Parducci pinot noir. However, if you do prefer your pinot noir in a riper, rounder style, this is for you. Give it a shot.

This wine was received as a media sample for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

2008 Santa Carolina Reserva de Familia Cabernet, Chile Strikes Again!

I've reviewed Santa Carolina wines before, and came away with a good impression. Check out the Santa Carolina carmenere that I sampled last month. The winery has undergone a change over the past few years, and is focusing all it's attention on quality versus just pumping out vintage after vintage of generic juice.

This past April I was also part of a live blogger tasting of Chilean red wines, and discovered some amazing values of very high quality wines. Tasting these Chilean wines over the past few months has given me a better understanding and appreciating of just how far that country has come in it's wine production and export to the U.S.

Last night I felt the need to open a cabernet sauvignon, in part to get some breathing space after gorging on awesome Oregon pinot noirs last week. Also, while I may Tweet and talk about other varietals a lot, cabernet is a grape I love and appreciate in so many ways. I've been fortunate to start getting samples from Chilean wineries who want to expose their wines to a Milliennial audience. I tend to get giddy when those samples are cabernet sauvignon, especially good quality cab.

This Santa Carolina cabernet has been sitting in my samples fridge for a while, and it seemed like the perfect evening to tip a glass of big, intense, earthy cabernet to go with a home made (sort of) pasta sauce and some penne pasta. That might seem a bit unusual as pairings go, but I did jazz up the sauce with sauteed onions, garlic, Kumato tomatoes, and sun dried tomatoes.

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The 2008 Reserva de Familia smells great, I can pick up some herbs, dry earth, a compelling dark berry aroma, and some toasty oak on the finish. Just the kinds of things I enjoy in cabernet! As I let the wine open up in my glass, it started gaining complexity, which is to be expected, most red wines to need some time and air to show their full suite of aromas. The dark berries became black currants and cherries, herbs become a desert sage, and some bittersweet chocolate shows up to play in the sandbox. I would describe the bouquet as focused, ripe, and complex.

Waiting over an hour to taste wine is never easy for me, as I suspect it's never easy for many of you. Just seeing the beautiful dark purple liquid swirling in my glass is temptation enough. But I managed, dear reader, to hold out while the Santa Carolina cabernet opened up gently in my very-used wine glass. Anyone know if Riedel sends out samples? I could use some new glasses!

Time spent in my glass has done the Reserva de Familia caberent wonders, but I can see how this might still benefit from a few more years in your cellar. Right now it's showing some great tannic structure holding a core of spicy black cherries and currants. A bit of a lag on the mid palate creates the sensation of being hollow. Thankfully the finish comes on strong with notes of roasted coffee. I enjoyed the complexity that's already here and think that in another year the mid palate will flesh out, showing bright black fruit mixed with dark chocolate. The alcohol is 14.5%, higher than I prefer but the winemaker did a great job hiding it, there was hardly any heat present.

If a wine can beg for a food pairing, the Santa Carolina cabernet sauvignon begs for a ribeye steak. Hell, even a cheese burger would do wonders with this wine. As it stands, I can happily give the 2008 Reserva de Familia a B+ and a STRONG BUY recommendation. I found this wine at K & L Wine Merchants for $18, which to me is a great deal. Robert Parker's "The Wine Advocate" gave it a 91 points, which I feel is a bit high but speaks to the potential for aging. Locally here in San Diego, I recommend emailing Carolina Wine Brands USA and asking them who carries it. You'll see it retailing between $18-20 per bottle.

This wine was received as a media sample for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Chile Redux: Santa Carolina Carmenere

Right around the time that the Wines of Chile blogger tasting was going on, I was sent some samples from Santa Carolina as well. Things got rather hectic and as a result, those Santa Carolina samples sat in my wine fridge for a while, resting until I could start working through each bottle.

The first wine I opened was the 2009 Santa Carolina Reserva Carmenere, from the Rapel Valley. Priced at right around $10, it's a great entry into both Chilean wines and the varietal carmenere. My own expereicnes with carmenere to this point consisted of tasting the offerings from Concha y Toro's Casillero del Diablo, some Chilean wines with carmenere in them, and random tastes through my near-decade in the business. Suffice it to say that carmenere is not a varietal I experience often. Some of you are probably familiar with the Santa Carolina brand though, as it has been around for a while, producing all manner of red and white wines. Why would they then send out samples to bloggers? The answer lies in the new direction the winery is going. Starting in the very recent past, the Santa Carolina has begun to embrace it's heritage and history as part of a "Chilean Heritage" campaign.

After opening and letting the Santa Carolina carmenere breathe for an hour, I was ready to give it a thorough inspection. That's what wine bloggers are for, right? Carmenere is dark, very purple hued and opaque. At first glance, this reminded me of petite sirah or even zinfandel. For a long time, the carmenere was thought to be merlot and it wasn't "discovered" as merlot until 1994.

The first thing I noticed besides the color was that the wine had a potent, complex bouquet. I could smell specific aromas emanating from the glass despite it being a meter away from me. Lots of black pepper, earth, tar, and dried herbs jumped out at me. The Santa Carolina Carmenere bursts with aromatic intensity, and wafting up behind those primary aromas were hints of green pepper and blueberry preserves. In truth, I was surprised at how complex the nose was, I expected a more one-dimensional wine. Nothing like a pleasant surprise during a wine review, right?

A few sips in, I was impressed. Huge flavors of pepper, leather and a streak of minerality a mile long piled into my mouth. As I thought about what I was tasting, other flavors like mocha, bittersweet chocolate, and this rich, dense black fruit note put a smile on my face. The tannins here are very nicely integrated and silky smooth. To me, the Santa Carolina carmenere is ready to drink now but will also hold up for a few more years.

All told, a wonderful wine for $10 and something I'd gladly buy to have with grilled, charred meat. It is barbecue season after all! After poking around google, it's clear that the Santa Carolina Carmenere is available all over the country at places like Costco and your local grocery store. For further assistance finding the wine, Carolina Wine Brands USA is the place to check. My rating? Easily a B and a BUY recommendation. This is tasty wine and seems to be a wonderful expression of carmenere. I can't wait to try the rest of the Santa Carolina wines.

This was received as a media sample from Brand Action Team.

Beau Carufel