(August 2, 2018) … I have noticed I am not writing up all the wines that come out of the cellar, just those that make for an interesting write-up or still have an interesting story to tell, good or bad. Today it’s a double dose of Carmenere from Echeverria in Chile, one from 2004 the other from 2005.
2005 … wine is half way up the cork but comes out clean and easy, the wine smells leathery and coffee-like with a touch of fresh road tar; but while the palate seems to have similar notes, they are not offensive; in fact, the acidity is clean and fresh and the leathery-coffee- dried blueberry notes are rather pleasant in the mouth with a long finish that shows the wines age. That said, this is a pretty impressive bottle for its age, and as the wine opens it settles down and develops more traditional forest floor nuances.
2004 … the cork snaps in the middle so I have to create a hole in the middle to get the wine out and strain out the bits … the wine taste much older and flatter than the 2005 (we opened the 2004 first); this wine tasted, for lack of a better term, old, but after tasting the 2005 it is like this wine has no life left in it at all … it’s a disappointing wine from beginning to end.
Winner by a mile: Echeverria 2005 Carmenere