Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Chile)

This wine hales from the Colchagua Valley region in Chile. The region has been called "The next Napa" and for good reason.    

On the pour this wine is ruby red. Dusty earth, black cherry, blackberry, leather and cedar aromas give this Cabernet outstanding complexity on the nose. The palate brings huge cherry flavors, along with coffee and black pepper.  Soft tannins and crisp acidity round this wine out to be a good one.  I definitely recommend this one.

The modern Chilean wine industry has matured, and come to rely ever more on scientific methods for drawing the best from its exceptional soils and micro climates, it has become apparent that the Colchagua Valley offers exceptional advantages for growers and producers alike. Located about 80 miles southwest of Santiago, the Colchagua Valley is about 75 miles long and averages 22 miles in width. It enjoys a balmy, Mediterranean climate matched in only a few other places on earth. With no smog, the air is exceptionally clear, and the region is noted for its abundant and extraordinarily luminous sunshine. The average annual rainfall, which occurs mostly in the winter months of May to August, is about 24 inches. Humidity is low, and frost is unknown.

Also vital for great grapes, of course, are good soil and water. The deep sedimentary soil of the Colchagua Valley contains a mixture of fine-textured loam clay and loam silt, bordered by medium-textured volcanic soil in the foothills. Towering above the Valley to the east are the mighty Andes, including the 14,038-foot Tinguiririca Volcano. Melting snow feeds the Tinguiririca River, which rises at the foot of the volcano and carries pure water to the valley below.

All these factors create a terroir of near-perfect conditions for the vineyards, including an exceptionally long growing season of warm, dry weather. Grapes that mature slowly can develop their varietal character to the fullest, yielding wines bursting with fruit -- a characteristic that has earned the Colchagua Valley an honored place on the world's wine map. A further blessing is that Chile is entirely free of phylloxera. (A tiny aphidlike insect that attacks the roots of grapevines. Phylloxera sucks the nutrients from the roots and slowly starves the vine, creating a dramatic decrease in fruit.)