South American Tasting

More wine tastings. I'm not terribly familar with South American wines -- sticking mostly to California, France, and the occasional Italian. We tried a few from Montes Alpha of Chile which has been highly rated and I've tried here and there. Concha y Toro and Kaiken were also sampled. The whites seemed to outshine the reds.

Concha y Toro Sauvignon Blanc
Rich with flavors of pineapple, grapefruit, and vanilla, this one was a cheap $8 and oh, so lovely.

Catena Chardonnay
Not like any other Chardonnay I've tried. This one reminded us most of the oaky flavor of scotch -- rich and smooth.

Montes Alpha Chardonnay
I found this one to be the least exciting of the whites. It had an undesirable sourness on the finish and was pretty ordinary compared to the previous two. Wine Spectator rated it with 90 points, but what do I know?

Concha y Toro Carmenere
This grape varietal used to be grown in Bordeaux but now mostly in Chile. It is dark and rich with a nice spiciness. For a red, I found it to be rather buttery.

Kaiken Cabernet
The Kaiken wines are from Argentina. This one was full of cassis and licorice flavor. Wine Enthusiast gave it 90 points, I wasn't terribly impressed. Again, what do I know?

Kaiken Malbec
I had never tried this grape other than in countless blends. At first the intense flavors of blackberry really hits you then I couldn't take it anymore. It would probably be best with food.

Montes Alpha Syrah
This one is described as tasting of tobacco and leather. This may explain why I thought it smelled of cat pee and Philip thought it smelled of those Jelly Belly buttered popcorn jellybeans.

Montes Alpha Cabernet
We have tried this one before simply because Wine Spectator gave it 90 points. I'm beginning to realize that I normally prefer the wines that aren't rated and am unimpressed with the highly rated ones. I'll never be a wine snob at this rate. ha! Anyway. The better of the reds, this one focused on the fruit. Full bodied.

Another Alexander Valley tasting for next week...