From the Cellar
Two Tarapaca Carmenere Reservas (Chile)
14 Oct 2021- Details
- Category: Uncorked Tonight
(January 10, 2021) ... Another of my famous finds in the cellar selections, this time I found two different vintages of the same wine - these used to be great examples of the grape, but how have they held up? Time to find out:
2002 ... My notes start out like this: not the greatest, has a sweet cherry vanilla note but the nose is full of volatile acidity, leather and licorice ... then comes the chemical perm, oak, and spice - interesting but kinda scary ... then 20 minutes later it's turned leathery, weedy and port-esque, very off-putting. Dead in 30 minutes. The best part of this wine was the first 10 minutes.
2006 ... Another atrocious nose but the palate seems to be okay - leather, pruney, burnt coffee, spiced oak, dried cherry with more leather on the finish ... opens up fresher, smoother and silkier than one would expect with a touch of dried dark fruit and mocha. This one was at least drinkable for longer.
