Sherbrooke Sips with R&R: Chile
Winery: Emiliana - Adobe Carmenere
Vintage: 2008
Location: Colchagua Valley, Chile
Alcohol: 14%
Blend: 100% Carménère
Tasting: Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
I think there is some kind of rule that you cannot leave Chile without sampling some Carménère wine. If there isn’t a rule, then I think there should be a rule. This is not only a Carménère wine, but it is also organic. The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce had their Spring Wine and Food night on April 20, 2010 at the Jubilee Auditorium. Why in heaven’s name am I telling you this after the fact? Well, that is the first place that I had tried this wine. Now I am a big Carménère fan. I have been for a long time. They are available in all different price ranges and therefore the body is going to be a bit different on each of them. I have to tell you, though, for this price, I was pleasantly surprised at the flavour this little wine has. Check out the Emiliana website (that is the parent company of Adobe). They have not only information on the Adobe wines (Sherbrooke carries a number of them), but also their other wines like Coyam, which we just sampled on April 22 and 23rd for our Earth Day Weekend tasting.
Rafael and José Guilisasti of Emiliana Winery saw changes starting in how people were looking at their food and the land and they wanted to be a part of this change. People all around the world were starting to be more conscious of what they were eating and drinking and how they were treating Mother Earth. It was at that time that they started on the road to make the change to Organic and Biodynamic wines.
“Life is full of opportunities, and Emiliana is one of them… United by a common passion, we have been able to produce high quality wines with their own identity, and thereby achieve the authentic expression of their terroir through organic and biodynamic agriculture and respecting the true value of the company, which is in caring for its people and the environment.” “We do what we are”
Jose Guilisasti Gana
When we were presenting our Earth Day tastings I had more than a couple of people ask what the heck ‘Biodynamic’ meant. I told them, tongue planted firmly in cheek, that it was ‘organic on steriods’. One fellow said ‘but steroids aren’t org…oh… I get what you mean.” Basically it is Organic farming bumped up a few notches. It truly is fascinating reading about the biodynamic agriculture and the background on how it came to be. Basically, the stewards of the land not only farm organically, but they take it many steps further. They plant certain trees and plants in the vineyards to bring in particular nutrients into the soil and to protect the vines. The vines are planted and harvested during certain lunar cycles to bring out the best in the vines and the fruit being harvested from it. And so on… Now that is the Reader’s Digest version.
I was speaking to a gentleman just a few months ago he was telling me how his father used to work the land in Europe. His father did his own tests by planting and harvesting his crops in the traditional method and doing it in the (what we now call) biodynamic way. He found consistently that planting and harvesting using this method of biodynamics was well worth it. Not only was his land/soil in great shape, but his crops were better for it. His son has carried on the tradition. I figure, where can we go wrong taking good care of Mother Earth?
The Carménère grape was originally from the Bordeaux Region in France. When the explorers were travelling hither and yon through the world they took vines from their home country, to plant in the ‘New World’. Carménère was one of those grapes that were brought to Chile in the mid 16th century. It is almost impossible to find in France today.
Chile has the largest planting of this grape in the world today. It has almost become their signature grape in the same way that Malbec has become the signature grape of Argentina. The Chilean wine growers actually thought this Carménère was merlot or a clone of merlot for many years. It wasn’t until 1994 that it was discovered that this was the ‘lost grape’ Carménère. It was recognized as a distinct grape variety by the Chilean Department of Agriculture in 1998. It is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah, but we see it on its own quite frequently now.
This is such a neat little wine and we are looking forward to you trying it. A small portion of it (20%) was aged for 6 months in French and American oak barrels. The colour is ruby red and you can smell wonderful dark cherries, with a tiny bit of spice (black pepper). When you taste it you notice the tannins are medium-firm and are balanced nicely with the acidity and you sure can taste that wonderful cherry and notes of that great spice. This is just a nice fresh wine to sip on. Now if you to like food like we do, then you will be pleasantly surprised at how well this wine pairs with some great dishes.
Food Pairing:
Chorizo Sausages in a tomato sauce; Barbequed beef, pork; aged cheeses; venison; chili.
CSPC: 733158
Price:
$12.99 (Minus Winesday 10% discount.)
*Price correct at time of printing. Price subject to change without notice
We will see you on Wednesday. Next week we are travelling to Spain.
We have some exciting news for you! Richard and I will be travelling to Italy and France over the next five weeks (not virtually). We will be returning June 15th to Sherbrooke. Our very good friend Diana (Dee - Anna) is going to see you on Wednesday afternoons. Diana, Richard and I are in class together studying to be Sommeliers. She is an awesome person and you will just love meeting her! She knows her stuff. The weekly wine blogs will still be posted for you to read and you can come by and taste all the wines with Diana and have a good chat.
In addition to the weekly wine blogs, Richard and I will be writing about our wine adventures in Italy and France and we will be writing about all the places that we will be visiting along with photos too. Join Diana on Wednesdays and then during the latter part of May, you can join us in the vineyards of Italy and France.
Ciao.