Checking Out Red Wines from Chile's Maipo Valley

Review: More and more wines from Maipo Valley in Chile are making their way into the United States in recent months. Classic Bordeaux varietals such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot are frequent arrivals from these valleys, which are surrounded by the Andes mountains. Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006, is a value-priced offering from this area.

Color of Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon is an even medium ruby red. Aromas are light and fruity, with hints of fresh laundry.

On the palate, bright acids mix with red berry fruits and touch the roof of your mouth first. The wine then finishes quickly and with a pronounced acidic wrap-up. Pleasant enough, but not much in the way of distinctiveness, nor layers of depth. Two stars out of five on the Spirit of Wine scale.

The lightness and acids would make this better as a food wine than as a sipping wine. A year or two in bottle might smooth Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon a bit, but it is not ready for long aging.

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Review: Santa Ema wines hail from various locations around Chile. This reserve merlot is from the Maipo Valley appelation - the area in which Santa Ema founder Pedro Pavone Voglino settled when he arrived from Italy's Piamonte region in 1917. At 13.5% alcohol, the Santa Ema Merlot, 2006, was aged for 10 months in French oak.

In the glass, the wine is medium dustry red, opaque in the middle. Upon swirling, bright, purple currant aromas push from the glass.

On the palate, a lush, rich, thick fruit pushes up and across your mouth, supple, purple and aromatic of violets, touch of charcoal. A bit of underlying chocolate and oak too. Clean, balanced acids and very fine tannins roll the experience around your cheeks, leaving a tingly, lengthy finish. Wonderful, energetic experience - not typically merlot. Three stars out of five, with a plus for it's exuberant friendliness. Great value.

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Review: By way of comparison, let's look to a less well-known area of Chile, and a less well-known grape. Carmenere is a red varietal that you will more often see as part of a blend than as a stand-alone wine. The Santa Ema Barrel Select Carmenere is sourced from grapes in the Puemo area of the Chachapoal Valley of Chile.

In the glass, this carmenere is medium deep blood red. Aroma is bright with purple, plumy fruit - one of the most plumy aromas I've encountered yet. Somehow almost seems to have a rubbery smell - like when I was pumping up my bicycle tires as kid.

On the palate, that rubber balloon sensation hits in the middle-mouth, very round and filling. Acids support the blackberry-style fruit, and bring the flavors along your cheeks for a modest, clean finish. Two stars on the Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for its overall vibrancy. Feels like a wine to enjoy over the next couple of years, not to lay down for a rest. Decent value at modest price.

Find Santa Ema Barrel Select Carmenere at WineZap.