From the Cellar

Double Dose of Echeverria Carmenere (Chile)

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Category: Uncorked Tonight

(August 2, 2018) ... I have noticed I am not writing up all the wines that come out of the cellar, just those that make for an interesting write-up or still have an interesting story to tell, good or bad. Today it's a double dose of Carmenere from Echeverria in Chile, one from 2004 the other from 2005.

2005 ... wine is half way up the cork but comes out clean and easy, the wine smells leathery and coffee-like with a touch of fresh road tar; but while the palate seems to have similar notes, they are not offensive; in fact, the acidity is clean and fresh and the leathery-coffee- dried blueberry notes are rather pleasant in the mouth with a long finish that shows the wines age.  That said, this is a pretty impressive bottle for its age, and as the wine opens it settles down and develops more traditional forest floor nuances.

2004 ... the cork snaps in the middle so I have to create a hole in the middle to get the wine out and strain out the bits ... the wine taste much older and flatter than the 2005 (we opened the 2004 first); this wine tasted, for lack of a better term, old, but after tasting the 2005 it is like this wine has no life left in it at all ... it's a disappointing wine from beginning to end.

Winner by a mile: Echeverria 2005 Carmenere

Antu 2010 Syrah (Chile)

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Category: Uncorked Tonight

(June 22, 2018) ... I have been a big fan of the Antu line of Syrah from Montgras for as long as I can remember, and I think the 2010 is the first year I really tried this wine, though I do see I have a 2008 left in my cellar as well - so it's probably the first ... but this one has held up brilliantly: minty-blackberry, black cherry and a great peppery-spicy finish; rich and round and totally delicious.