ft. Cabernario No. 8 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2017
I recently picked up Wine Simple by Aldo Sohm and instantly thumbed my way to the Key Wine-Making Regions section. Where a wine comes from preps you so much for what you’re about to taste. A cabernet from California will taste different than a cab hailing from Bordeaux and different still than a cab produced in South America. Climate, soil, methods of winemaking, and more vary from region to region and even vineyard to vineyard – making it easy to find a wine to please every taste. So far on this blog and over on Instagram, I’ve focused primarily on wines from the United States – especially in the Sunday Sauvignon Series. Not for any particular reason other than they’re easiest to find at a sub $20 price point in my particular part of Ohio.
But that changes tonight! On this particular Sunday, we sip from the Maipo Valley region of Chile, right outside the capital city of Santiago. Cabernario No. 8 is a single vineyard wine from ungrafted vines, a key attribute to most wines hailing from South America as phylloxera, which destroyed many vineyards around the world during the 1800s, didn’t make the voyage across the Atlantic. Good work, little grapes! Way to stay healthy.
This particular cabernet sauvignon is vastly different than previous cabs featured here. And I love it! With flavors of tobacco and dark red fruits, it’s full bodied, but pleasantly acidic. Where other cabs I’ve talked about feel heavier and rounder, this one sings with brightness I haven’t experienced recently – at least not from a cabernet sauvignon.
I’d definitely reach for this bottle again. And for someone who always wants to try something new, that’s high praise. Let me know what you think if you try it! Any while you’re in the comments, if you have another Chilean wine that should be on my radar, let me know.