2006 OOPS Carménère/Cabernet Franc

A very slight change in format - most posts will begin with formal notes from the first few hours of opening the bottle. Immediately after pouring two glasses, I recork the bottle, toss it in the fridge overnight, pull it out a couple hours before reopening and consume the rest the next day. The second day notes will have varying degrees of depth.

A bit of a history lesson: this wine is called OOPS because for some time wines were coming out of Chile which were called Merlot – but something seemed amiss about it – after genetic testing, it turned out the “Merlot” was actually carménère – one of the orignal Bordeaux grapes that was presumed extinct (largely due to bugs, no less). This is a blend of Carménère and Cabernet Franc. I paid under $8, but don't recall exactly how much less.

Day One:
Earth and oak on the nose.

A lot of oak – too much – lots of spices, to a near unpleasant degree – cinnamon, basil, oregano – all sorts of green as well – bell peppers. In terms of fruit, maybe some black cherries but it's mostly just funk.

The oak lingers on the finish as well.

Day Two:
Oak and alcohol on the nose.

Very watery as it hits the palate – then some tannins come through – oak, mint, tobacco, and a slight bit of plum.

The alcohol is quite apparent on the finish as well as some minty flavors. I do not recommend this for mouthwash though.

Final thoughts:
You know, it's refreshing to have a cheap wine that I don't care for because of excessive green and funk versus it being too fruity and flabby. In fact, I'd be willing to wager that if I dumped out half a bottle of some cheap Sutter Home type Cabernet and mixed it with a half bottle of this, you'd probably have a pretty solid blend.

2003 Casa Silva Coleccion Carmenère

Here we are getting ever closer to the wine century club with a Carmenère from Chile. Carmenère is actually a fairly interesting grape. It was originally found in Bordeaux but in 1867 insects (Phylloxera) infested all the vines and destroyed every grape and vine. Luckily, the grape was exported to South America in the 1850s, so it still exists. Chilean wine tends to be a good value, this one was $9.

The first thing that struck me with this wine was how dark it is. At a very deep purple, no light gets through this one at all. The nose has a hit of alcohol and cherries and not a whole lot else.

The palate is fruit bomb with a hit of alcohol. There’s some tannins to balance it out a bit but very little oak--this is for all intensive purposes, all fruit. Black fruit–plums, blackberries, cherries, and the like.

After this one opens some subtleties of spice and oak come through. A hint of herbal notes–mint for the most part–are present, but really only seemed to come through after being open for five hours. If I had to compare this to anything, I’d almost say a Zinfandel. Fruit, high alcohol, perfectly paired with pizza, grilled or roasted food, anything heav.

This is a fantastic wine, especially at the price. Highly recommended.