Great under-$20 Cabernet Sauvignons – The Hunt Yields Fruit!

Since the 1990’s, Americans have increasingly turned to Chile for fine wines at reasonable prices.  Cabernets from the Maipo Valley were among the first Chilean bottles to make an impression in El Norte.  After 2000, drinkers in the USA discovered a similar font of lovely wines from Argentina, including and especially Malbec.  Knowledgable consumers soon realized that they could also find good-value Cabs in Argentina as well.  This week, the Voyager pits a Chilean Cabernet with a long heritage against a newcomer (at least to these shores) from the other side of the Andes Mountains.  The result is a Wine Face-Off (see below) presenting two eminently satisfying wines that can segue from the tail-end of the barbecue season to the beginnings of winter, when heavier meals will be coming off of our hearths.

Two South American Heavyweights Battle For Our Consumer Dollars...

A distinguished old firm keeping its standards high

2011 Cousiño Macul Antiguas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon (Maipo Valley, Chile):  Cousiño Macul is one of the oldest wineries in Chile, dating back to the nineteenth century. When I came across them in the late 1980’s, bottles from Cousiño were among those that formed my impression of the possibilities for Chilean wine. It’s heartening to see that the good work continues!  This bottling has a medium garnet color.  This is one of those releases that is a textbook example of how wine can evolve after popping the cork.  The nose is quite reserved initially, with some vanilla and red berry showing through.  At first, it was a bit astringent on the palate, but softened considerably after more than an hour in the glass.  What was a bit austere and unrewarding grew into a lovely, drinkable wine, which also gained a bit of density with air.  The red berry aromas persist, but are joined by notes of beef and chocolate over time.  Darker tones on the palate two hours after pouring, including an interesting graphite quality.  When I say that a woodsy scent joins the chorus still later, I’m not talking about oak, but rather an intriguing forest scent.  A nice mix of elegance and power – a very pleasurable wine if you’re patient enough to cellar it for a year or decant.  ***1/2 - ****

I'd never encountered this until recently, but it's serious juice...

2010 Lamadrid Single-Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Mendoza, Argentina):  Lamadrid is a new name to me, but it’s garnered a couple of favorable notices recently in publications I read on a regular basis, so I decided to check it out.  Dark garnet.  Mint/eucalyptus at first on the nose, which gave way to an almost Port-like aroma later – a bit more overt alcohol, iodine and a darker fruit profile.  Attractive blackberry and dark fruits dominate the palate.  More mass than the Cousiño, but excellent balance prevents the wine from tasting heavy or crass.  Real depth here – serious wine.  Would be interesting to revisit in a year or two.  ***1/2 - ****

So who triumphs?  Another Wine Face-Off with no loser.  Based on intrinsic quality alone, I would probably buy the Lamadrid, even though there were moments when the nose went all over the place, not quite matching the seamlessly balanced flavors.   Despite this slight disjunction, it leapt to the fore when first poured.  Yet, the Cousiño Macul is a bit less expensive, and melded together into greater elegance after being opened for over two hours.  Truly, you can’t go wrong here; both are fine wines, and worthy candidates in the search to find a superb Cab for under $20…

So what is a Wine Face-Off?  In an attempt to further refine the manner in which I evaluate wines, I came up with the idea of, from time to time, tasting two similar wines at the same time, with the same food, to see which one emerges with an edge.  I first did this with Mâcon-Villages (see the previous post, Mano a Mano in Mâcon), and found it a useful tool to gauge exactly what I’m looking for in wines from a particular category.  Since I always preserve the wines for at least a night or two, I try to open them again and re-taste both at the same time – again with the same dish (although typically something different than I served the first time around).  I hope you’ll find the result of Wine Face-Offs useful when making your purchasing decisions.