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As
with all of our wine tastings, we began with a reception wine,
the 2001 Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc Estate in this case. This wine
features delicate floral aromas together with lemon, peach and
fresh pear characters.
The
formal tasting then began. Mr. Carlos Miquel provided us with
a brief history of wine making in Chile along with a description
of the geographic diversity of the country. When discussing the
wines, Mr. Miquel described the "appelation", including
the factors that affect the development of the grapes, such as
amount of sun and rainfall.
 Our
first wine pairing was the 2000 Arboleda Chardonnay and the 2000
Wild Ferment Chardonnay. The Arboleda Chardonnay was smooth and
fruity with a light oak accent. The Wild Ferment Chardonnay had
dried apricot, ripe green apple and tasted nuts aroma. Due to
the method of natural fermentation using indigenous yeast which
is naturally present on the grape skins, there was also layers
of fresh,yeasty bread and sweet onion. This wine follows the style
of Burgundy.
The
next wine pairing was the 2000 Merlot Estate and the 2000 Arboleda
Merlot. The Merlot Estate featured jammy black cherry and blackberry
aromas with layers of coffee bean, toast and vanilla. There was
also flavours of green pepper, blackberry and blueberry. The wine
was aged in oak to contribute the toasted vanilla accents. Although
listed as 90% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, we found out
that the 90% Merlot was actually composed of 60% Merlot and 30%
Carmenere grapes. This is due to the history in the past of vines
planted and the confusion between Merlot and Carmenere grapes.
The Arbolda Merlot had a deep, red-purple colour, concentrated
dark fruit and chocolate character. Oak barrel aging imparted
vanilla notes to this wine. This wine was very elegant and provided
a lingering finish of black plum and chocolate.
 Our
third wine pairing was the Errazuriz Syrah and the Arboleda Syrah.
Syrah is an upcoming grape in Chile. These wines have a style
that falls between the Syrah's of France and Australia. The Errazuriz
Syrah had a nice rounded flavour. The Arboleda Syrah had an intense
violet colour and spicy red fruit flavour. There were layers of
raspberry, cherry, spice and cocolate. The wine finished with
a round dark berry finish in your mouth.
Our
fourth pairing covered 3 Cabernet Sauvignon wines, the 2000 Errazuriz
Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, the 1999 Arboleda Cabernet Sauvignon
and the 1999 Errazuriz Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva. These wines
had deeper colour and more flavour than the Syrahs. The latter
of these 3 wines is the Flagship wine for Errazuriz. It is grown
on the Don Maximiano Estate which is a semi-desert region with
hot summer days and cool afternoon breezes. This change in the
daily temperature causes the grapes to ripen longer and helps
create intensity of flavour and concentration. This wine is full-bodied
with layers of complexity. There are aromas of earth, leather
and spice, with accents of black cherry and vanilla oak. The 2000
Errazuriz Cabernet Sauvignon Estate had flavours of black cherry,
blackberry and plum. The oak provided background notes of vanilla
and buttered toast. The 1999 Arbolda Cabernet Sauvignon has lush
blackberry and black currant aroma. There were some flavours of
chocolate and mint also. The mint flavour possibly a result of
the wine growing region containing eucalyptus trees. This is an
elegant wine.
Our
wine tasting finished with a dessert wine, the 1999 Errazuriz
Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. We were engaged with Mr. Miquels's
description of how this wine was produced as there was an absence
of botrytis, which is typically associated with late harvest wines.
This wine was extraordinarily fruity. There were flavours combining
ripe melon, peach and apricot with background herbal notes. The
Sauvignon Blanc grape added balance to this wine with it's good
acidity. It was an excellent wine at a very reasonable price.
 Tasting
Selection
At the end of each tasting, the group selects the top red and
white wines from the evenings tastings. The favourite red and
white wines are:
White
2000 Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay
1999 Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc Late Harv.
Red
1999 Errazuriz Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva
2000 Caliterra Syrah Arboleda
2000 Errazuriz Syrah
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