The Cellar: Values from the Southern Hemisphere
Friday, June 26, 2015
This week I thought I would feature two wines that are available locally for under $20 from the Southern Hemisphere. The wines, a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and a Carmenère from Chile, are delicious by themselves and ideal by the BBQ. The white is for cooling you down while you’re grilling, while the red pairs with the game sizzling away on the grill.
This week’s featured white wine is the 2013 Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand styled Sauvignon Blanc remains very popular with American wine drinkers and after having tasted the Dashwood I am reminded why. It’s just a great tasting wine. It is as simple as that; fresh and vibrant with enticing aromatics and mouthwatering acidity – super easy drinking and refreshing like few others. Oh, did I mention that it retails for around $10!? The ’13 Dashwood displays many of the characteristics one would expect of a NZ Sauv Blanc in this price range, including those of free cut grass, grapefruit and lemon.
This week’ featured red wine is a little different as it is made from the dark-skinned Carmenère grape, a variety that is widely overlooked and very underappreciated in my opinion. If you have never tried a Carmenère before I urge you to ask you wine merchant for one. Originally from Bordeaux Carmenère has since traveled to Chile where it has found itself a new world home as well as a new expression.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTUnlike the unpredictable sometimes cool and rainy Bordeaux, Chile’s abundance of sunshine makes for consistently ripe Carmenère grapes. When fully matured, Carmenère has a tendency to display many of the soft and lush, dark-fruit characters of Merlot. However, there is also a distinct herbaceousness in most Carmenères that some people don’t like. Personally, I love that characteristic and alongside notes of coffee, pepper and chocolate it often makes for a truly unique wine drinking experience that goes well with a lot of different food, especially game.
This week I sampled the 2012 Carmenère ‘Grande Reserve’ from Domaines Baron de Rothchild’s Chilean Brand Los Vascos. The grapes for this 100% Carmenère, which is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, are sourced from vineyards in Colchagua Valley – an up and coming wine region where a lot of good red wines are produced. Los Vascos only made 6.000 cases of this critically acclaimed $17ish wine which displays blackberries, fresh green herbs and dark chocolate. Overall this wine is a delicious and savory experience and a great representation of what I think a well-made and well-priced Carmenère bring to the table. Seek it out.
Cheers,
Steffen Rasch is a Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Wine. Feel free to email him at [email protected] with any wine-related questions or learn about wine in person by signing up for one of his tastings through the Providence Wine Academy. The next tasting is Sunday, July 12th, during which participants will be exploring the wines of Central & Eastern Europe.
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