Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile

Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon wines

Finding a reliable table wine in Shanghai is still a problem but our recent tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile was a delightful surprise. As usual, we chose a grape (Cabernet Sauvignon) from a particular region (Chile). Each guest brought a bottle of wine that met that standard and sold for no more than ¥160 (about $26). Each bottle was wrapped and served blind, and we tasted each of them in turn.

Last Spring we tasted Shiraz from Australia and were largely disappointed. None of them were really very good. By contrast, these Chilean Cabs were all pretty good (with the exception of the corked wine, of course). We had a duplicate pair of wines, and one of them was corked. Other than that, everyone agreed that all wines were certainly drinkable and even enjoyable. With the exception of the winning wine (and of course the corked wine) all wines were good, solid, enjoyable Cabernet Sauvignon wines.  Any of them would be fine with an inexpensive dinner, at a party, or as a 'second' bottle of wine.

The winning bottle, by score and by unanimous acclaim, was Carta Vieja Prestige.  It was a much more lively wine, with flavors that evolved over time, from the first whiff of the aroma to a lingering aftertaste, minutes after the wine had been swallowed.  This was a wine that wants you to pay attention to it, to savor each sip and to pause before once again bringing the glass to the lips.  It was a pretty well balanced wine, and curiously, does not have any big flavors that predominate.  It had berry, wood, a bit of leather, and cherry, but nothing overpowering, and no stand out flavors.

Here are the wines we tasted, in the order we ranked them:

1. Carta Vieja Prestige
2. Santa Rita Reserva
3. Concha Y Toro Frontera
4. Cousino Macul Antigua Reservas

Not ranked

• Miguel Torres Emblema
• Miguel Torres Santa Digna Reserve

Dory cooked an excellent meal of Fusilli with mushroom cream sauce,  green salad, bread, and chocolate mousse for dessert. 

New Zealand wines in Shanghai

Earlier this spring we attended a wine tasting at the Roosevelt Hotel, which featured wines from New Zealand, particularly one Sauvignon Blanc and three Pinot Noir wines. The cost was ¥120 each, which included snacks, the wines, and of course views of the Bund and Pudong Financial center across the river. It's always worthwhile going downtown, and this seemed interesting, so we took the shuttle downtown and walked to the Bund.

We enjoyed the wines (more on those in a minute) enough that we bought some of them and had them delivered. In the process we were able to get samples of all four wines so that we could replicate the wine tasting at home.

Here are the wines:

Omni Hills Limestone Ridge Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, 2011, 13.6%, ¥130 (about $21.50) omnihills.co.nz

Omni Hills Limestone Ridge Pinot Noir, New Zealand, 2011, 14.4%, ¥200 (about $33) omnihills.co.nz

Miners Daughter Reserve Pinot Noir, North Canterbury, New Zealand, 2011, 14%, ¥268 (about $44)

Pyramid Valley Vineyards, Growers Collection, Cowley Family Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2010, 14%, ¥335 (about $55) Wakari, North Canterbury, New Zealand

The Omni Hills Sauvignon Blanc was a real treat. It was exceptionally well balanced, with the citrus flavors common to Sauvignon Blanc, but with some additional roundness, almost a vanilla hint that made it less acidic and very versatile. I generally like the grapefruit flavors of Sauvignon Blanc, but this wine felt a bit more nuanced, more elegant. It has a long flavor profile, developing in your mouth and then slowly melting away, leaving a suggestion of vanilla, a touch of mineral, and mixed fruit. It has slightly too much alcohol for my preference, but it is well balanced. The only problem is that at 13.6% you have to think about how much you can have! Very nice wine, and very nice as an accompaniment to Chinese food here in Shanghai. We're looking forward to drinking more of this.

Omni Hills was also represented by a very nice, light-bodied Pinot Noir, their Limestone Ridge Pinot at ¥200.  This wine had a delightful, delicate, long flavor profile, with cherry and raspberry flavors. The flavors are so delicate, so nice, and it's a bit of a shame that it doesn't have more body. Pinot Noir can be made in a wide variety of styles, and the full-bodied wines are so good, that they tend to be what many of us look for in Pinot Noir.

(As an aside, a colleague was raving about an Erath (Oregon, Willamette Valley) Pinot Noir he had had that was stunning. He went out and bought several bottles of Erath, only to find that, while good, it wasn't the same full bodied Pinot he had fallen in love with on his first tasting. The fact is, there can be excellent light bodied Pinot and wonderful full bodied Pinot, and if you are expecting one and get the other, it's possible to be disappointed.  Just sayin.)

Miner's Daughter made a very tasty Pinot Noir with a wonderful aroma, a full body, and … then it falls off a cliff. Once in the mouth, the flavor turns acidic and somehow stops. When Dory and I tasted this at the Roosevelt, I didn't even finish the sample pour.  On the other hand, when we held our own wine tasting recently, it ranked higher than the Limestone Ridge Pinot.  So, some of us liked it better than, well, than I did. I wanted to like it but I just found it had a bad finish.

The Pyramid Valley Pinot Noir, in contrast to both the earlier wines, was awesome.  Of course, at more than $50 it certainly ought to be good. And in fact I loved it. It has a full intriguing aroma, a full bodied first taste, and a lingering aftertaste. It was multi layered, with fruit, cherries, and earthy flavors. 

When we had our wine tasting at our house, re-creating (without fireworks, sadly) the original, the results changed a bit. Dory and I still held to our original preferences, but our guests thought the Miners Daughter was very good. So, there you go - personal taste trumps all.

We were happy to find these wines, and very happy to be drinking them in Shanghai. It is available through http://globus-wine.com/.