Sunday, April 1, 2012

2007 Pascual Toso Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Argentina

Colorific…Garnet red fading to a rust hued rim

Scentuous…Blackberry, boysenberry, mint, vanilla

Taste-osity…While I was out and about in part of the Phoenix Metro area that I normally don’t get to, I decided to stop into a Costco and check out their wine selection. I am glad that I stopped, I found two Argentinean Cabs, and this is the first of those. I highly advise decanting this wine for at least an hour or using a Vinturi. This wine is rather tight and quite tannic until it gets some air; but it opens up nicely once it’s been given a chance to breathe. The attack is very fruit focused with flavors of blackberry, black cherry, black plum and currant with delicate hints of oak, coffee and brown sugar in the background. These flavors while being very dominant are also rather subtle; what I mean by that is that these are very present and easily defined flavors but they are also balanced with one another and very silky on the palate. They effortlessly fade into a nicely muted mid-palate of soft tannins and gentle alcohol acidity; the first leaves the mouth feeling cool and the clean and the second sends soft tingles and heat across the tongue and gums. These textures drift away as a long finish sets in with pleasant black plum and oak flavors followed by tobacco, vanilla and black cherry and finally light tinges of anise and burnt sugar. This wine is a full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon; a true sampling of South American genius when it comes to the magic of winemaking.

Overall, this is why I enjoy South American wines so much. A perfect example of a sub-15 dollar Cabernet Sauvignon that can compete with a 20 dollar bottle. While this isn’t as complex as some wines I’ve sampled at this price, it’s more balanced and very, very smooth. I believe I paid 13 dollars for this bottle and it’s well worth that price. What makes this wine so good is how easily it sips without a pairing of food. Some Cabernet Sauvignons need food to truly make them standout, while this wine shows its quality either with food or without food. Therefore, I give this a great QPR and must recommend you purchase this particular wine immediately. I know that my local supermarket carries the Pascual Toso Cabernet Sauvignon, though not the reserve. I haven’t seen this at Total Wine & More, but it’s possible they do sell this. Either way find this wine, buy it and sit back and sip away at a wonderful bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Pascual Toso

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