WTN: 2002 Casa Marin Cartagena Chardonnay

Marcia made a delicious fish soup from a recipe given by Lalou Bize-Leroy on a TV program aired during her last visit to São Paulo. Since it calls for a cup of chardonnay, I opened this by a winery about whom I have heard good things*. Of course, later we had the rest of it with the soup.

2002 Casa Marin Cartagena Chardonnay Casablanca Valley 13.5%
Golden amber color, on the dark side. Rich nose containing citric elements, vanilla bean, caramel, toothpaste chalk and that powdery stuff that is sprinkled over Turkish Delight. Before food, the acidity overwhelms the fruit, but there is good body, pronounced caramel, and additional sour apple notes. After food, the acidity remains quite present, but in better balance (Marcia suggests that lingering acidity might be an indicator of whether a wine goes well with a food, an interesting proposition given that food that is too rich might neutralize the acidity of a mismatched wine). Good match for fish soup. Overall, I'd say the different parts of this wine stick out, i.e., are not well integrated, but it has personality and is flavorful. While I'm not motivated to buy more, it makes me even more curious about the winery.

* from Patricio Tapia, who writes a good guide to Chilean wine, and our own Bob Parsons, who went to one of their tastings last year.

Oh, Oswaldo, those lovely Sauvignon Blancs!

it makes me even more curious about the winery.

Oswaldo, I met the very nice young Mr Marín here in Stockholm last week. His Mother, Maria Luz Marín, is the founder and the boss of the winery. I tasted an older Pinot, a 2003, I believe, their first vintage. It was clearly very mature and maybe a bit tired, but still an interesting and good wine. The 2006 Pinot Noir Lo Abarca Hills was an altogether different story. Tightly packed with fine, dark fruit. Toasted oak was dominating the nose now and I am not sure if it eventually will be integrated into the wine, but I will buy a couple of bottles and let the m rest in my cellar for some time to see what happens. Easily the most serious Pinot that was available at the Chilean wine day here. They also offered some white wines, but due to lack of time, I concentrated on Pinot and Syrah this time. Their Riesling will be released here in November. Any opinion about it?
Cheers, Anders

Oswaldo, I met the very nice young Mr Marín here in Stockholm last week. His Mother, Maria Luz Marín, is the founder and the boss of the winery. I tasted an older Pinot, a 2003, I believe, their first vintage. It was clearly very mature and maybe a bit tired, but still an interesting and good wine. The 2006 Pinot Noir Lo Abarca Hills was an altogether different story. Tightly packed with fine, dark fruit. Toasted oak was dominating the nose now and I am not sure if it eventually will be integrated into the wine, but I will buy a couple of bottles and let the m rest in my cellar for some time to see what happens. Easily the most serious Pinot that was available at the Chilean wine day here. They also offered some white wines, but due to lack of time, I concentrated on Pinot and Syrah this time. Their Riesling will be released here in November. Any opinion about it?
Cheers, Anders

I haven't heard about the son, but the mother seems to get rave reviews wherever she goes. This was my first Casa Marin, so I'll look for the Lo Abarca and the Riesling and give them a try (I see a 2004 Lo Abarca and a 2006 Riesling Miramar listed at my local importer). Tonight I'll probably open a 375ml of their Matisses Sauvignon Blanc and post a note.

I picked up a bottle of the 04 Lo Abarca and will try it before month end. But the 14.5% alcohol already made me wonder if it will be too, well, alcoholic, so I keep reminding myself it's all about integration, balance, etc.

I hope you will find it a nice bottle, Oswaldo, in spite of the alcohol. I quite agree with you that 14% is somewhat of a limit for Pinot. In fact the 2005 Lo Abarca I tasted has 14%.
Cheers,
Anders