{"id":899,"date":"2012-01-05T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2012-01-05T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/2012\/01\/05\/report-from-an-afternoon-with-marcelo-papa-concha-y-toro-october-24-2011\/"},"modified":"2012-01-05T13:00:26","modified_gmt":"2012-01-05T13:00:26","slug":"report-from-an-afternoon-with-marcelo-papa-concha-y-toro-october-24-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/2012\/01\/05\/report-from-an-afternoon-with-marcelo-papa-concha-y-toro-october-24-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Report from – An Afternoon with Marcelo Papa (Concha y Toro) … October 24, 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Full Version (without pictures) …<\/strong><\/p>\n

I seem to be playing catch-up in the early part of the year … Yes it\u2019s January 2012 and I\u2019m writing some of my late-year On the Road articles \u2013 as you can see I\u2019m a little behind, but better late than never as I like to say.\u00a0 With that said there are some days you remember better than others and some you get very excited to share with others.\u00a0 This was one of those days.\u00a0 A group of press folks were getting a chance to meet and taste wines with Marcelo Papa, he is the winemaker behind the \u201csuper premium\u201d Marques de Casa Concha label from Concha y Toro.\u00a0 Marcelo has been heading the Marques label since 1999 and has really raised the bar for these wines and their notoriety \u2026 it is truly one of the most consistently good wine values coming out of Chile at the under $20 price point.\u00a0 Marcelo has quite the resume including 2 winemaker of the year honors from his fellow countrymen (2004 \u2013 Chilean Wine Guide; 2008 \u2013 Chilean Food and Wine Writers).<\/p>\n

Marques Wines \u2026<\/strong>
I\u2019ll start by (re-)introducing you to the Marques de Casa Concha wines \u2013 if you have never bought or tried these wines you truly are missing out on some of the best values from Chile:<\/p>\n

2008 Syrah ($19.95) \u2013 very raspberry throughout with a good tannin backbone and a sour cherry finish. (*** \u00bd+)<\/p>\n

2009 Merlot ($19.95) \u2013 aged 60% in French and 40% in American oak for 18 months \u2026 this wine delivers the juicy, minty, blackberry you expect from Chilean Merlot with a smooth mouth-entry and delicious easy to drink palate. (****+)<\/p>\n

2009 Carmenere ($19.95) \u2013 the Carmenere has 15% Cabernet Sauvignon added for structure as well as aged 90% in French and 10% in American oaks.\u00a0 A pretty nose of raspberry, floral, mint, and vanilla spice, all lead to a good mouthfeel and some blackberry, mocha, vanilla flavours on the palate \u2026 fresh and delicious. (****+)<\/p>\n

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon ($19.95) \u2013 it says Sauvignon on the label, and 94% of it is \u2013 the other 6% combine Carmenere, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot into this juicy package.\u00a0 The nose gives it all up: chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, cassis, blackberry \u2026 and it all follows on the palate \u2013 a real pleaser of a wine that\u2019s always available as a Vintages Essential (Ontario). (****)<\/p>\n

2010 Pinot Noir ($19.95) \u2013 the newest entry into the Marques line is made from relatively young vines, planted in 2006, and has 25% new French oak involved in its 14 month ageing process.\u00a0 This is a welcome addition to the line as it seems to bridge the gap between the California juicy and the Burgundian earthy-minerality of Pinot.\u00a0 Juicy cranberry, cherry and strawberry combine with some coffee notes to give this one some focus on both aroma and flavours along with excellent length on the finish. (****+)<\/p>\n

A New Line of Wine \u2026<\/strong>
It sure was nice to get re-acquainted with the Marques wines, but the real news isn\u2019t what lies in Concha y Toro\u2019s past \u2013 but instead what is in their future.\u00a0 In 2005 Marcelo took on a new line of wines called Vina Maycas del Limari, these are wines that start their lives as grapes grown in the Limari Valley in the north of Chile, 450km from the Maipo Valley.\u00a0 Limari is considered a cool climate region within this hot country with foggy mornings and lots of calcium in the sub-soils, this helps to give the wines a different character than those grown to the south.\u00a0 The vineyards are 18-20km from the coast and, unlike their hotter more southerly vineyards, these grapes see January temps (Chile\u2019s hottest month) of 25C \u2013 12C, maximum to minimum.\u00a0 According to Marcelo: \u201cthe big problem in Chile is too much sun (heat), it\u2019s good for sweet fruit but not good for acidity.\u201d\u00a0 The Limari Valley help reduce direct sunlight on the grapes with its foggy mornings, a fog that doesn\u2019t relent its cover till between 1-3 in the afternoon.\u00a0 It was after all this preamble that Marcelo presented these wines (thankfully they are soon to be in the Ontario market).<\/p>\n

Maycas del Limari wines \u2026<\/strong>
To call these wines excellent or outstanding just doesn’t seem quite appropriate enough to let you know how good these wines really are.\u00a0 I gave each and every one of these wines (Chardonnay, Cabernet, Syrah), four-and-a-half stars which says a lot about – I also look forward to trying them again for Vintages tastings as they can only get better with more time in bottle.\u00a0 There are three reasons I am looking forward to seeing these wines in the market:\u00a0 First, I can\u2019t wait till they hit LCBO shelves so that I can snap up a few bottles, and put them in my cellar to share with friends.\u00a0 Second, at under $20 they might just be the best quality for value wines you\u2019ll see out of Chile all year.\u00a0 And three, these just might be the best under-$20 Chilean wines I\u2019ve tried, period.<\/p>\n

2009 Chardonnay, Reserva Especial ($19.95 \u2013 previously released) \u2013 a fresh, clean Chardonnay that delivers on all levels.\u00a0 Lovely fresh white fruit of peach, pear and apple, there\u2019s also quite a bit of minerality that keeps this wine lively on the palate \u2026 great finish with palate cleansing acidity. For a guy who doesn’t impress easily with Chardonnay I can tell you I was … very. (**** \u00bd)<\/p>\n

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserva Especial ($19.95 – Feb 4, 2012 Vintages release) \u2013 the vineyard for this Cabernet is 45km from the coast, so the afternoon starts a little earlier (as the fog dissipates) which the Cab requires.\u00a0 The fruit jumps out of the glass: blackberry, cassis, cherry and blueberry \u2013 the palate is lively with fruit and an acidic backbone that keeps things from getting jammy \u2026 the fruit coats the palate but that acidity keeps it from sticking there.\u00a0 Rich, supple and tasty.\u00a0 11% Syrah is also added to the wine.\u00a0 (**** \u00bd)<\/p>\n

2009 Syrah, Reserva Especial ($19.95 – June 9, 2012 Vintages release) \u2013 dark fruit and chocolate without being cloying and sticky, this wine has a freshness about it that is not often seen in hot climate shiraz\/syrah.\u00a0 It\u2019s juicy and jammy with tons of flavour in the mouth and those flavours seem to hang on forever, but there\u2019s also a great seam of acidity that washes through the mouth keeping the finish clean and the palate ready for more – it would take more than a bottle to tire the palate out, but the brain might get a little fuzzy (14.5% alc).\u00a0 This is one fantastic and delicious wine. (**** \u00bd)<\/p>\n

All these wines have wonderful cellaring potential of up to a decade \u2013 but they taste so good now it might be hard to keep your hands off them till then.<\/p>\n

To see the version with pictures, click here<\/a><\/p>\n

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Full Version (without pictures) … I seem to be playing catch-up in the early part of the year … Yes it\u2019s January 2012 and I\u2019m writing some of my late-year On the Road articles \u2013 as you can see I\u2019m a little behind, but better late than never as I like to say.\u00a0 With that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-the-road-with-the-grape-guy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.michaelpinkuswinereview.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}