Topic: TN: Heap''o''Cheap 2—Southern Cone: Briefing for a Descent Into Hell
Author: Manuel Camblor/Puerto Rico
Date: Sat Feb 26 08:03:52 2000
I am a glutton for punishment... To give you an idea of the utter immensity of my masochism, I shall transcribe below my notes on some wines tasted on a recent balmy evening in the Dominican Republic. The object of that particular spitting session was to sample a large number of the South American wines available on the island for under US$12, just to see "what they''re about." Mostly industrial product, needless to say. Sure, I had a faint hope of finding a QPR gem or two in the bunch... Of course, we will let the operative word be "faint" here.

Before the Chileans and Argentines began to flow, my new friend Jorge Henríquez offered us a taste of the 1992 Albert Pic et Fils, Chablis Grand Cru "Blanchots." A very distinctive, loosely structured Chablis that charmed me by showing what I can only describe as a sort of bipolarity. One moment the wine would feel wide-open and inviting, with delicious aromas and flavors of pear, grapefruit, anise and mint; the next moment, it would be all serious earthiness...

And after that all-too-brief prelude came... Well, er, came things.

1999 Santa Rita, Sauvignon Blanc "120," Lontue Valley (Chile): Lean and green. Pipi de chat, sea water, grass on the nose. Decent concentration of citrusy flavors, but the wine comes across as a bit harsh in terms of acidity.

1999 Santa Carolina, Sauvignon Blanc, Lontue Valley (Chile): Clean, grassy, citrusy nose with a hint of something that reminds me of Irish Spring soap (traditional green bar). Slight sprits on the tip of the tongue, after which a little burst of passion fruit and lemon. A simple little quaffer that''s really not bad.

1998 Urmeneta, Sauvignon Blanc, Lontue Valley (Chile): A garden hose that''s been in the sun all day starts sprouting feline urine. Mean and vegetally nasty, with evil chemical footnotes. Really hard to believe that this is made by the same people who bring us those Viña San Pedro ''35 Sur" $7 charmers...

1999 Concha y Toro, Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon "Frontera," Valle Central (Chile): Basil, pineapple and guava in nose and mouth. Very nice and softened quite a bit by the Sémillon component. A clean and eminently drinkable little thing.

1997 Concha y Toro, Sauvignon Blanc "Casillero del Diablo," Valle Central (Chile): An "older" Sauvignon that made it into the ranks by accident... Herby and soft. A bit faded, fruitwise, but still drinkable.

1998 Carmen, Sauvignon Blanc, Valle Central (Chile): Flat and indeterminate... Apple skins and Club Soda after it has lost the spritz. Mediocre.

1999 Santa Rita, Sauvignon Blanc "Reserva," Maule Valley (Chile): A stinky one! Armpit and cat''s pee, swimming-pool chlorine and chalk on the nose. Against the wishes of my nose, I put this into my mouth and it''s a bit better, though too simple... Leafy, with some lemon coming through. Blah.
1998 Concha y Toro, Chardonnay "Frontera," Valle Central (Chile): Vanilla and pear. A simple drop guilty only of being bland.

1999 Santa Carolina, Chardonnay, Lontue Valley: Cinnamon gum (I swear, oak can smell like anything...), vanilla and tropical fruits. Treading the fine line between dreck and okay.

1998 Concha y Toro, Chardonnay "Sunrise," Valle Central (Chile): Fruity nose with a pleasant hint of ctrusy greenness. Very refreshing in the mouth, with nothing to intrude with the simple fruit flavor. What is this, like $4? If so, it''s a pretty decent buy.

A couple of glasses of water later, I confronted the reds. The first was from the one producer that had managed to offend me with a white...

1998 Urmeneta, Cabernet Sauvignon, Lontue Valley (Chile): Peppery, plummy nose. Metallic and astringent in the mouth. Every bit as nasty as the Sauvignon Blanc, but red. Would severely mess up any sangría.

1998 Viña Tarapacá, Cabernet Sauvignon, non-D.O. (Chile): More true awfulness. Insecticide and roasted bell peppers of the cheap kind available in most supermarkets. Turpentine on compost heap on utter misfortune. Did I forget to mention that it''s really disgusting?

1998 Concha y Toro, Cabernet Sauvignon "Frontera," Valle Central (Chile): Paint thinner, black pepper, prunes, a bit of raw beef. Thin, with some indeterminate fruit flavors and astringency that ultimately proves inoffensive. Drinkablish.

1999 Santa Carolina, Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, Maule Valley (Chile): Ink and red berries. Nice plummy and berryish fruit with some tartness in the quick ending. The kind of stuff that would surprise you by being remotely quaffable when it''s offered to you while flying coach.

1998 Trapiche, "Vieja Abadía," Mendoza (Argentina): Candied fruit is pretty much al I can get. Aromatically, it''s excessively discreet. Soft and toasty in the mouth. Buttery oak dominates the finish, which turns unfortunately vegetal.

1998 Carmen, Merlot, Valle Central (Chile): Flat, mildly peppery nose. Spicy redcurrant and too-chewy tannins. Not pleasant. The second loser from Carmen, a producer I''d more or less trusted all across its range in the past.

1999 Santa Carolina, Merlot, Lontue Valley (Chile): Blackberry and cherry, thin and clean. No edges. No interest. A bit of coffeeish oak at the end.

1998 Concha y Toro, Merlot "Sunrise," Valle Central (Chile): A chocolatey, peppery drop of Merlot. Utterly boring.

1998 Santa Rita, Merlot "120," Lontue Valley (Chile): Soft, redfruity aroma. Again, no edges, though this one manages to keep my interest at least for a nanosecond... Spicy, mildly minty finish.

1997 Carmen, Cabernet Sauvignon, Valle Central (Chile): Peppery, medicinal and totally dull.

1996 Trapiche, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza (Argentina): Got game. Minty, with ample cherry-berrytude. Good grip on the finish, with very nice acidity and tannins. A well-defined little Cabernet.

1998 Santa Rita, Cabernet Sauvignon "120," Valle Central (Chile): Cassis and plum, plus a bit of bell pepper. Soft upon entering the mouth, but firms up and shows some tannins on a nicely spicy end. Quite decent.

1997 Carmen, Grande Vidure-Cabernet "Reserva," Maipo Valley (Chile): With which I thought Carmen would turn around and show me some nice, for a change. And it did, though the wine is too oaky for its own good. Big aroma of cassis, blackberry and wood. Quite concentrated and plush. Black olives, chocolate, cassis and brown sugar on the palate and a nice briariness within the plush tannins of the finish.

1994 Trapiche, Malbec "Oak Cask," Mendoza (Argentina): I offered this up from my own cellar in Santo Domingo. It had been languishing there for the gods know how long... Thought it would make a nice addition, to see if the cheapies can withstand some cellaring. Very developed. Cedar, leather, ink, raw beef, loam and spices on the nose. Plum and cassis in the mouth. A bit short, but nicely balanced.

1997 Concha y Toro, Merlot "Trio," Rapel Valley (Chile): Big nose dominated by oak, with blackcurrant and ink somewhere within. Soft and fruity. Decent, but bland.

1998 Concha y Toro, Merlot "Casillero del Diablo," Rapel Valley (Chile): Pepperish, maceish, deep-roast-coffeeish. Soft fruit and huge oak. Gimmicky-Plus.

1998 Concha y Toro, Cabernet Sauvignon "Casillero del Diablo," Rapel Valley (Chile): Exactly the same as the Merlot before it, but with the teensiest touch of blackcurrant.

1997 Carmen, Cabernet Sauvignon "Reserva," Maipo Valley (Chile): Fragrant; blackcurrant and cassis dominate the nose, accented by leather and coffee. Sweet and round in the mouth, with soft tannins. It''s a shame that the finish is completely taken over by oak and thrown out of whack.

1998 Santa Rita, Cabernet Sauvignon "Medalla Real," Maipo Valley (Chile): Eucalyptus, blackcurrant, cassis, chocolate and anise. A very tasty Cabernet that seems like a bit of a Mondavi-wannabe (sort of like a baby-Napa "regular" Cab). Long, toasty finish with slightly dry tannins.

1996 Santa Carolina, Cabernet Sauvignon "5 Estrellas" Gran Reserva, Santa Rosa Vineyard, Maipo Valley (Chile): The Cabernet fruit may have been of medium quality here, but it has long since been taken over by misguided oak. Flabby and inconsequential. A shadow it soon shall be.

And that was it for my notes, though more wine was poured. I felt confident enough of the conclusions I''d drawn from these wines. Too few provided for even remotely interesting drinking. Some didn''t even make it as simple, honest quaffers. Some producers I had relied upon in the past for great-QPR everyday wines have either let the quality drop too much or are falling prey to the 100-point scale, overplaying extraction and oak treatment at the expense of fruit character.

Ah well, I guess I''ll have to go elsewhere...

Manuel