WTN: Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2004

[Bruce Hayes]

Maipo Valley.

Very dark purple in the glass.
Spicy cherry fruit, red licorice and chocolate on the nose.
Rich and mouth-coating, sweet cherry and raspberry fruit, spicy and peppery, chocolate, some beets, currants, but with an ever-present drying woodiness (kind of like sucking on a popsicle stick, once the popsicle is gone).

Drying, tart finish, with a little bit of heat.

Retails for $13.05 Canadian and, IMHO, not worth buying again.

To my mind, a great many economical Chilean Cabernets exhibit this woody characteristic.

[Robin Garr]

To my mind, a great many economical Chilean Cabernets exhibit this woody characteristic.

Bruce, thanks for the TN and comments. I'll watch for that character in other Chileans this month. It definitely seems to me that many Chilean Cabs show a herbal/vegetal/green pepper/leafy/woody character, but I associate it more with underripe Cabernet Sauvignon than Chile alone, and also often find it in Bordeaux, especially low-end Bordeaux. Assuming that your "popsicle stick" is a manifestation of the same "green" quality that I'm finding.

[Bob Parsons Alberta]

Think I have the "popsicle" stick here Bruce!! The Cousino-Macul.