Wine School-Chilean Reds, May 30, 2013

Theme

Tonight we will be exploring wines from Chile. We will be sampling a Carmenere, a Cabernet, and a red blend. Chile is known for both the Carmenere, often mistaken as the Merlot grape until recent DNA testing, and Cabernet grapes. Let the tasting begin.

The Wine

Santa Ema 2009 Carmenere Reserve

Color:  Bright purple
Nose:  Notes of chocolate hit you with the first sniff with hints of cherry and pepper.
Mouth:  Soft tannins with pepper on the finish; nice body and well balanced.
Price:  $9.99/The Wine and Cheese Place, St. Louis
Conclusion:  We all agreed this was a nice, well balanced wine. We loved the cherry-chocolate on the nose, and what a great value at only $9.99. It was great with the pizza.

Montes Alpha 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Deep purple
Nose:  Black currant with lovely spice. Great nose-we were excited to try it out!
Mouth:  Dark fruit up front with a lovely finish-more pronounced tannins that the Carmenere, but balanced overall.
Price:  $21.99/Wine and Cheese Place, St. Louis
Conclusion:  Another winner! The taste lived up to the nose. Black currant on the nose was awesome. Definitely a bigger bodied wine than the Carmenere. It would be great with a grilled steak this summer. A steal of a cab at only $21.99.

 

Primus - The Blend 2010

Color:  Inky purple
Nose: A wonderful nose, the Syrah is definitely present. Lots of red fruit with a bit of spice.
Mouth:  Layers of flavor, fruit up front with a nice finish.
Price:  $16.99/The Wine and Cheese Place
Conclusion: Great spice and fruit on the nose and mouth. We enjoyed the upfront fruit of this wine. We would definitely buy this wine again too.

 

 

 

 

The Pairings

Cheeses

Manchego - We love this cheese, but it was too creamy for these rich Chilean wines. It totally destroyed the Carmenere and fell flat with the other two wines.

Wyngaard Gouda - This was a bit better than the Manchego with the Carmenere, but it brought way too much cherry out in the Cabernet (think cherry cough syrup when you were a kid).

Rembrandt Extra Aged Gouda - Definitely a no with the Carmenere and the Cab, it didn't destroy the Primus, but we don't recommend this match.

Note:  Unfortunately, we struck out in the cheese department tonight. All three of us love the Manchego and Rembrandt. The Wyngaard was new to us and we enjoyed the cheese alone, but these wines are too great to ruin with any of these cheese pairings.

Entrees

DiGiorno Tuscan Chicken Flatbread -  Another great frozen pizza we all loved. It also paired well with all three wines. The pizza definitely enhance an already great finish on the Carmenere and Lisa thought it really brought out the pepper in the wine. The Cab was fantastic with the pizza, and the best match-it really enhanced the fruit. The Primus blend was also a winner.

Bolognese with Spaghetti - All in all, this sauce matched nicely with the wines. The Primus was definitely the best pairing with the sauce, but the Cab worked well too. Overall we all enjoyed the pizza over the Bolognese as a pairing.

Chocolates

Chocolate Covered Cherries - Cherry, cherry, cherry! The chocolates were delish, but with the Carmenere and Primus it was like our moms were making us drink cherry cough syrup when we were little again. It was a bit better with the Cab-the chocolate brought out the vanilla in the wine.

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate - With the Primus blend it played nicely off the fruit, but didn't work at all with the other two wines. It ruined that lovely finish on the Carmenere-made it bitter.

Godiva Dark Chocolate with Almond - It was not a good night for the cheeses or chocolates. We love this chocolate alone, but sadly, we do not recommend it with these wines.

Final Thoughts

Beth -  It was difficult tonight to pick a favorite wine, but I'm going with the Montes Alpha Cabernet. I thought it was especially delicious with the pizza. I would have loved pairing all of these wines with grilled meat, but the timing just didn't work out. I was surprised that the chocolates didn't pair as well as I anticipated, but live and learn. If tonight was any indication, Chilean wines offer a some great wines and prices easy on the pocket book.
Lisa - I haven't had the opportunity to try many wines from Chile so tonight's class comparing three different wines was fun.  The Carmerere was a new one for me-loved the chocolate on the nose.  I almost always love blends, but I think my favorite was the Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon.  The black current on the nose was just bigger and bolder all around.  Sorry the cheeses and chocolates weren't the best pairings, but I can see a juicy steak going great!
Mary Jo - I was very excited to delve into some Chilean wines during this class!  My favorite overall was the Primus, which was the blend.  For me, the Primus had the heaviest tannins, although very well balanced, and was the most full-bodied of the three wines.  Unfortunately, while all three cheeses were delicious, none paired well with the wines.  The Tuscan Flatbread was a "wow!" with the Montes Alpha and the Bolognese was a hit with the Primus.  The Primus paired well with the chocolate covered cherries.  Overall, the wines were excellent and the price points are wonderful!