Canto de Flora (Chile) Merlot 2006
I have just returned from a visit to Chile to judge their national wine competition, the ‘Catador’. One of the visits I made during my trip was to Errazuriz Ovalle, a winery that is not related to the well known Vina Errazuriz, and whose wines appear under a variety of brand names. Errazuriz Ovalle is huge – second only to Concha y Toro – and is making some really solid commercial wines. This wine from Errazuriz Ovalle is exclusive to Morrison’s, and is a 100% Merlot from the high-quality Colchagua region. It has a nose of spiced black fruit compote, and a palate that has a flood of sweet, but rich and quite densely concentrated black fruit. There’s a typically plummy merlot character here, with hints of chocolate and smoky spice, in a wine that won a Silver medal at the International Wine Challenge this year, yet sells for just a tad over 3. Not complex, but a little bargain. 3.19, Morrison’s.
