2009 Anakena Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile

Color – Inky purple

Nose – Blueberry, cherry, blackberry

Taste – This wine is nicely fruit forward with blueberry, cherry, and other dark fruit right from the start. It’s not very complex, though the flavor transitions from fruit to soft tannins and muted alcohol, to a finish of caramel, oak, and chocolate. The tannins are larger and more pronounced upon first opening of the bottle, but they only mellow a touch, and the alcohol is really only present in the mid-palate and right at the beginning of the medium finish. The wine has a pleasant mouthfeel, though it tends to be “lighter” in weight in my mouth than I would have expected. There is also a small amount of burnt popcorn flavor right at the end of the finish that I have found I like in red wine. I would say this is medium bodied with a cool texture, and perhaps too few tannins for my taste, though the flavor itself is pleasant and inviting.

Overall, this is a decent performer in the 8 dollar bottle section of Cabernet Sauvignon. It doesn’t jump out at me with immense flavors or complexity, but it has solid flavors, depth, and mouthfeel. I would say the QPR is good for this wine as the quality is definitely present and the price is perfect. In my opinion, there are few 8 dollar reds that would fare this well, I would challenge you to find one and bring it to my attention. I would say this is a must try and one to keep in mind when planning any get together or for a house warming gift as this wine is good enough to give to just about anyone.

Anakena Wines

2009 Kalbarri Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia

Color – Ruby red

Nose – Raspberry, oak

Taste – The fact that the nose was so muted had me wondering if I’d gotten a dud of a wine. That and the fact that this wine features a “cute” drawing of a bird really had me wondering. But when I took my first sip, I was overjoyed to be proven wrong. The nose might be subdued, but the wine itself is not. It’s not a big, bold Cab rather this is a medium bodied Cab that features some very different flavors and textures. First off, I get some sour cranberries and sweet/sour red currants those fade to a nice mid-palate of roses and hints of mint, then there is a smooth transition to the medium-long finish that is filled once again with cranberries and some oaky black pepper flavors. The wine is a lot less “weighty” than most Cabernet Sauvignons, which works here. I was nicely surprised by the delicate flavors and textures rather than disappointed. This would go great with pizza or a burger maybe even a roast beef sandwich. It’s a nice change of pace from the “big” reds I normally favor, plus it’s priced right.

Overall, I would say this is a surprisingly good wine for the money. At 6 bucks you won’t find a lot of stellar wines and this isn’t stellar, but it is so far off the beaten path of what 6 dollar Cabs are that it’s refreshing and I will definitely buy it again. I would say pick this up for a sipping wine or as a way to introduce newcomers to red wines (though make sure to tell them that this isn’t a normal Cabernet Sauvignon). Good QPR, different enough to please my palate, and something I can enjoy just about any time of the day.

Kalbarri Wines

2009 Anakena Pinot Noir, Chile

Color – Opaque red

Nose – Strawberry, raspberry, cut grass, celery

Taste – I went into this tasting with an open mind mostly because I’d never sipped Pinot Noir previously, I am quite glad I decided to pick up this bottle as it was a very nice wine though different than anything I’ve tried up to this point. The initial sip has interesting flavors, beginning with raspberry, sour cherry, and chocolate. I know chocolate is a little bit strange, and it’s not small hints of chocolate, but quite a decent taste of chocolate right before the mid-palate. The mid-palate itself is characterized by minimal heat and tannins, what alcohol there is manifests more in the form of pinprick tingles and the tannins show up more towards the finish. The finish itself is medium in length and features more raspberry flavors as well as what I can only describe as “spicy fruit”, something like peppered cherries. The spicy flavor isn’t overwhelming just a tinge of pepper towards the end of the mid-palate. This wine is good, but not superb. As I have never tasted Pinot Noir before I reviewed this solely based on what I like and dislike in any wine. This wine makes the grade but isn’t something I am going nuts about, It’s a good wine for 8 dollars with consistent flavor and depth.

Overall, I would say this wine has a good QPR. It’s nothing fantastic or groundbreaking. You aren’t going to taste a tidal wave of flavors or find a lot of complexity here. It’s rather straight forward in its flavor transitions and while the flavors themselves are strange to me they seem to fit the wine. The rather muted tannins and alcohol do well here as the wine is light-to-medium in body and would not do well with large tannins or an overabundance of alcohol. I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase this wine if I was looking for something light but would probably find a slightly more expensive Pinot Noir, something to judge this against. It’s a decent wine, not bad, just a solid middle-of-the-pack red wine.

Anakena Wines

2007 Santa Rita Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile

Color – Ruby red

Nose – Plum, blackberry, cherry

Taste – I picked this up at Costco recently, having already tried the Santa Rita 120 Cabernet Sauvignon, I was curious what it’s slightly more expensive older brother might offer. This doesn’t disappoint, I expected good things and this definitely has good things. On the initial sip, I can taste plum and cherry with a nice tinge of green bell pepper, these flavors fade into a mid-palate that tastes of sour blackberries and a little more alcohol than I would have liked, this leads to a long finish of cocoa and possibly some tobacco. There is a strong aftertaste of fruit skins (most likely the tannins coming through) though it’s not unpleasant. The wine itself lacks the depth I expected here and the mouthfeel is a closer to medium-bodied than full-bodied; I had hoped that this wine would be much better than the Santa Rita 120 unfortunately it’s not that big of an improvement. Don’t get me wrong, this wine is still good. Is it better than the Santa Rita 120? Probably not enough to make this have a better QPR, but it’s still a really good Cabernet Sauvignon for the price.

Overall, I’d say this is just a fraction better than the Santa Rita 120 and it’s about three dollars more expensive. Is it three dollars better? That depends on your palate. For me I’d say it’s about dead even. Depending on where I’m shopping and my budget, I’d be just as likely to pick this up as the Santa Rita 120. This is slightly more complex, but that’s to be expected from the differences in the vintages and grapes. Compared to other Cabs at this same price I’d rate this one just slightly above average. I enjoyed it even though it’s not perfect; it’s still a solid wine.

2009 Castle Rock by Cramele Recas Cabernet Sauvignon, Romania

Color – Ruby red

Nose – Black currant, blackberry, flowers

Taste – On first sip, I didn’t think I was going to like this wine. It seemed a little “candy-like” or “chemically”, but I let the wine decant a little and then tried another glass, and that’s when the wine really showed its true colors. This is a great wine. It’s quite complex coming from an 8 dollar bottle; in fact, it might be the most complex bottle I’ve tasted at this price point. The initial flavors are full of black currant, chocolate and flowers; these quickly fade into a mid-palate of perfect alcohol balanced with nice smooth tannins and raspberry hints. The finish is nice and long with flavors of plum, bittersweet chocolate, coffee and pepper. This has some interesting heat to it; the heat doesn’t show up until the tail end of the finish and it feels more like actual pepper heat rather than alcohol heat. Interesting enough this wine is more medium bodied rather than full bodied; from the nose and color I would have expected something “heavier” than that, but it’s still very good. I would say this wine is one of the better that I’ve tasted at the 8 dollar price point. I didn’t expect much from this wine, and it blew my socks off. I was expecting mediocre at best, but this actually has some depth and character to it. Don’t be surprised to find this in my cellar if you come for a visit.

Overall, I would classify this as a great buy for 8 dollars and a great QPR. Make sure you decant the wine for an hour or so, otherwise be prepared for something that tastes more like cherry cough syrup than wine. I would recommend this for any occasion; it’s a rather well rounded wine. You can’t go wrong if you enjoy Cabs with some definite depth to them. This one is a gem at 8 dollars, get some for your cellar now!

Recas Wines

2008 Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Malbec, Argentina

(I do not own the rights to this picture)

Color – Light purple with a red rim

Nose – Raspberry, dark cherry, red currant

Taste – This is a really good Malbec for the price, easily one of Costco’s better Malbecs behind the Bodega Flechas de los Andes Gran Malbec. This isn’t nearly as “big” as that Malbec, but what it lacks in over-the-top-flavor it more than makes up for in quality. On the first sip I can taste blackberry, dark cherry, tobacco, and chocolate in good amounts. The initial sip is quite good and nicely complex, and the flavors smoothly transitions into a mid-palate that tastes of dark cherry and cocoa, then a nice medium-to-long finish that shows off the perfect astringency and tannins of the wine with light flavors of tobacco and cut grass. I quite like the level of complexity here. It’s not overpowering and is easy to distinguish the flavors that are transpiring here. The wine is full bodied with a very nice mouthfeel and perfect heat from the alcohol. I would say this is one of my favorite Malbecs I have come across lately. It is amazing by itself or with food (I had it with roast Cornish game hen and it fared quite well).

Overall, this wine has a good QPR and is very pleasing on the palate. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a glass of red or a decent Malbec. It is a little more fruit forward than I normally like, but that didn’t hinder the wine as it is also rather complex for a wine at this price point. Its pros balance out its cons and make this a very affordable and drinkable wine. Go sample this now!

Terrazas de los Andes Wines

2009 Chateau Los Boldos Momentos De Chile, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile

Color – Dark red

Nose – Green bell peppers, forest floor, blackberry, wet soil

Taste – This is a very nicely put together wine. I have to say that after tasting the Momentos De Chile Carmenere I was not impressed. So I wasn’t expecting much when I opened this bottle, I got more than I bargained for. This wine is nice and tight, and some might say a little too young. I happen to like the sharp contrast between the fruit and vegetable flavors and the very large tannin and alcohol hints. On the first sip I get a nice flavor of sour cherries, bitter blackberries, tobacco and licorice, the mid-palate is quite tannic with good heat from the alcohol. The former does a nice job leaving my gums feeling nice and clean, while the latter makes my tongue prickle just a little. The finish is medium-to-long with more tobacco and licorice flavors. Pretty decent effort all the way around, I didn’t expect to like this based off the sour and bitter flavors but they work in this wine and are rather pleasing.

Overall, I would say this reminds me more of a Carmenere than a Cabernet Sauvignon, which is funny because the Momentos De Chile Carmenere I tried resembled a Cabernet more than a Carmenere. Maybe it’s just me or perhaps it’s only this vintage that is a little funky but I think these wines are just a little off the normal path for their particular varietals. I do like this wine despite its strange flavor profile. It’s different enough to make me want to revisit it, and it is rather good as well. I’d say you should pick this one up at least once to see what you think and then go from there.

Vinas Los Boldos