2009 Arboleda Carmenere

When you taste thousands of wines every year you come to realise that much of it is made in a half-hearted fashion, being either blandly commercial or too heavy handed and with varietals expressing a sameness, regardless of origin or 'terrior'. Then something comes along that breaks the monotony. Chile's Carmenere achieves just that. The varietal is capable of bold, flavoursome yet balanced and complex wines. Those from the Caliterra stable are stylistically similar, each sharing a complexing dried leaf / tobacco characteristic that overlays the spicy, ripe fruit notes. It's an unmistakable and unique combination that's prompted critics internationally to conclude of Chilean Carmenère:

'When they're good, there's really nothing else quite like it'.
'Arboleda' is the premium tier in the Eduardo Chadwick family of wines. It's another very impressive example of Carmenere from that deftly balances a rich fruit profile against an elegant structure.Totally opaque inky black crimson red colour with deep black crimson hue. Lifted scents of blackcurrant infused with tobacco are followed by some blackberry and spice. Rich mouthfilling palate flavours of ripe blackberry and black cherry are followed by some spice and tobacco cigar box like back palate characters. Very fine grained almost velvet like tannins. Superb depth with very long aftertaste of ripe blackberry, black cherry and spicy tobacco.Cellar 4-5 years (2016-2017).Alc 14.0%