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    Casillero del Diablo Reserva Red Blend - Smooooth And Sweeeet

    By: Jon Thorsen Published: February 15, 2019 Last Updated: May 26, 2021

    Revisiting an old favorite and a grilling great from Concha y Toro, the Casillero del Diablo Reserva Red Blend from Chile.

    Casillero del Diablo Reserva Red Blend - Smooooth And Sweeeet

    70% Syrah and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from Central Valley, Chile. The wine is aged in oak barrels for an unspecified amount of time and has 11.46 g/L of residual sugar.

    Sample submitted for review. The Casillero del Diablo Reserva Red Blend has an SRP of $12 and can be found for as low as $9. Ready to buy? Check your local retailers. Imported by Excelsior Wine Company.

    From the bottle:

    This red blend's velvety smooth texture carries focused flavors of ripe black fruit, plum, and black cherry upfront, followed by dark chocolate notes in the midpalate. A charming finish is balanced by mild tannins and marked with hints of toast and spice.

    Enjoy this wine with steak with barbecue sauce, rosemary lamb chops, and spicy ribs.

    13.5% Alcohol

    We've been making a concerted effort as of late to go back and revisit some of the more popular wines on the site and update the reviews to the latest vintage. (See here and here for a couple of other recent ones.) In some of these cases, it's been a long time since we reviewed them - like 6 vintages for today's wine!

    The good news is that this one has held up very well, in fact, we liked it even better than the 2011 which was 60% Syrah, 25% Carmenere and 15% Cab Sauvignon. I'd even venture to say the 2017 is the best version of this red blend from Concha y Toro that we've ever tried.

    The 2017 Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Reserva Red Blend begins with abundant aromas of black fruit with a touch of green pepper, a little anise and some licorice and chocolate notes. The wine tastes very smooth with soft tannins and flavors that mimic the nose with a bit more oak apparent, but there's still tons of rich fruit. It's quite a satisfying blend. On the long finish the sweet fruit gives way to more spice, chocolate and licorice. While there's quite a bit of sweetness on the palate and finish, it handles it well and does the very popular semi-sweet red blend style proud without feeling manufactured.

    Ready to buy the Casillero del Diablo Red Blend? Check your local retailers.

    2017 Casillero del Diablo Reserva Red Blend

    TASTE: 8       COST: 8
    OVERALL RATING: 8

    Highly Recommended

    Looking for more of The Best Red Blends Under $20? You've come to the right spot! Check out our giant list here!

    The Best Red Blends Under $20!

    Filed Under: Chile, Highly Recommended, Red Blends

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    About Jon Thorsen

    Author and independent wine consumer helping millions of people find great wines without breaking the bank since 2011. Sign up for my FREE GUIDE to learn how! Read more about me...

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