Most of the South American wines have left me…pardon the pun…with a bad taste in my mouth. The Chilean reds I’ve tried have, for the most part been overly herbaceous. Some have pointed me towards the “Montes” wines, but its doubtful I’m going to pay $30 + dollars for a single bottle of untried Chilean wine red. I’ve been burned too many times. And for that price range I’ve got other proven favorites I would prefer.
But I stumbled onto this wine last week. The price was right for an experimental purchase ( about $9.00) and , although, it was South American it wasn’t from Chile. It was from Argentina.
Upon opening, the nose was kind off-putting. Kind of a brambly, meaty / bloody, smoky, wet leaf & mossy nose I more associate with an older Syrah than Cabernet Sauvignon. On the palate though, the wine was heavy bodied with smooth silky tannins. Blackberry and loads of tobacco leaf and cedar. Very nice finish, but still some hint of that nose when you swallow. I decanted the rest of the bottle and let it sit for about an hour. The nose lost the meat & bloodiness and took on the tobacco / blackberry nuances…which works very well for me. The initial smokiness remained on the palate as well. In the end…it was well worth the wait. And it’s a wine I’ll certainly buy more of.
Richard