The simple Carmenere
Tonight’s wine has a very special purpose: It’s my chaser for what I assume will be a sobering State of the Union address, the first given by President Barack Obama. Perhaps I should have chosen a domestic wine, but I chose to go with the other America instead, picking a Carmenere from Chilean maker Root: 1.
I’ve had the Root: 1 Cabernet Sauvignon before and I found it to be a very nice entry-level Chilean cab that had a bit more balance than Los Vascos, the bottom rung, fruit-forward label from Rothschild’s South American estate.
Carmenere is another Bordeaux varietal that does well in Chile, and it’s often blended with cab. In this case, this wine is actually 75% Carmenere, with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah.
I’ve begun to see Root: 1 more often in wine shops, and the winery claims the name has to do with them cultivating some of the oldest rootstock in Chile.
Root: 1, 2007 Colchagua Valley Carmenere – $11.97
On the nose the wine has straightforward blackberry aromas with hints of vanilla oak and popcorn kernel.
The palate has That unmistakable herb and almost mustard-green-like flavor common to many Chilean wines, with black plum to dried plum fruit semi-sweet chocolate on the finish. It’s a chewy wine, due to the rich dried plum and chocolate on the palate. There’s enough acidity on the finish to stand up to food. I’d like to try this with a sharp Asiago cheese. There’s not much tannin on the wine, so I wouldn’t hold onto it too long.
Frankly, I like it. It has good fruit, but not too much. It’s a nice bargain that’s a little different from your average Chilean cab.
© 2010, Henry E. Powderly II. All rights reserved.
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