Casa Silva Los Lingues Gran Reserva Carménère - Tour of Chile Wine #2

100% Carménère from Colchagua Valley, Chile.

SRP of $22 and available for as low as $16. Sample submitted for review purposes.

From the bottle:

"D.O. Colchagua Valley
Gran Reserva - Carmenere

Over 100 years ago, the 1st generation of the Silva family pioneered the Colchagua Valley, the region today producing Chile's finest premium wines. Today, the 4th and 5th generations fully own and run the winery and its land, making it the most family run Estate in the country.

The Family's emphasis on terroir and attention to detail has seen Casa Silva become one of the most award winning and prestigious wineries in Chile, being the most gold awarded at International Competitions in 2003. Accolades among many others include: "Best South American Producer" at the International Wine & Spirit Competition, London 2000.

This Carmenere is from the Los Lingues Estate tucked away in the Northeastern corner of Colchagua Valley, in the foothills of the magnificent Andes mountains. Among many other awards as Chile's top Carmenere producer, Casa Silva recently won the trophy at the Wines of Chile Awards as the Best Chilean Carmenere. This wine, of superlative colour, has great concentration of silky elegant tannins, hints of chocolate and a very long finish.

14.0% Alcohol"

Today we have another wine from the Colchagua Valley in Chile. Cabernet Sauvignon is actually the most planted grape in this area, but Carménère is also very popular. (And Carménère comes from the Cabernet family of grapes.) However, the rise of this French grape was not planned -- when originally imported from Bordeaux many years ago the grape was confused with Merlot. Luckily for all of us Carménère thrived in Chile, but wasn't until 1998 that it was officially recognized as a distinct variety.

The 2008 Casa Silva Los Lingues Gran Reserva Carménère begins with aromas of ripe dark fruit and green pepper. The wine tastes of lots of blackberry and blueberry flavors but also spice, oak and herb notes. This wine has lots of sweet fruit but it doesn't overwhelm. The Casa Silva finishes with a good amount of oak and a little lingering tobacco. Not too bad on day 1, but this wine was really delicious on day 2 as the oak was toned way down. In fact, I liked it so much better that I even revised my Taste rating up from a 7 to an 8 so be sure to give this one some air before drinking.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.