Valdivieso (Chile) Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2000
Another little star from my recent trip to South America, this is Valdivieso’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, which is blended from the best sites in the Central Valley, and spends 12 months in oak. New Zealand winemaker Brett Jackson is currently doing a terrific job in revitalising this historic wine company (his Sauvignon Blanc is about the best in Chile in my opinion), and this is a classy wine for the money: It is a solid, opaque purple/black colour, with a nose of cooked plums, cloves and spices, with a glossy core of blackcurrant fruit that is very pure and ripe. It has a lovely palate; very sweet fruit suggesting cassis and red plums, with a silky texture and hints of lighter, more racy raspberry character. But then the mid-palate is quit expansive, with a chocolate depth, a rounded tobacco and vanilla note and that fine purity of fruit set against refined tannins. With good length too, this should cellar well for a few years, and is excellent. £6.99, Sainsbury’s
