I took part in another fantastic Wines of Chile online blogger tasting last month and the only problem I had was a corked bottle. Noooooo! (Very tempted here to go on a rant about alternative closures but I will resist.) Luckily the fine people at The Thomas Collective shipped me a replacement and I finally got around to drinking it. It’s the 2005 Valdivieso Eclat and it’s very good. Kind of an unusual and unexpected blend for a Chilean red: Carignan, Mourvedre, and Syrah. It drinks like a French red from the Rhone, with lots of earthiness from the Mourvedre. I appreciate the moderate alcohol and good acidity on the finish; this is a wine well-crafted for food. It has a certain lightness (for a wine I thought would be much heavier) and some great pure fruit to it that I think would lend itself to the kind of dishes you’d associate with Burgundy: mushrooms, slow-cooked chicken, duck. (Yes, I did just compare a Carignan-based Chilean wine with Burgundy. Well, the cuisine of Burgundy. I’m only slightly crazy.)
Speaking of Burgundy, now I’m going to use the rest of this post to pester Wines of Chile about what I think the next online blogger tasting should focus on: Pinot Noir! There is some great Pinot from the inexpensive to the fancy pants coming from Chile. I eagerly await your response.
Full disclosure: This wine was a sample provided free of charge.
