Wine Review - 2010 Adobe Reserva versus 2009 Santa Ema Carménère

These two wines are definitely different versions of Chilean Carménère.  There are so many differences between these two it is amazing.  The tough part is that the lesser tasty of the two is actually not that bad but it just doesn't stack up to the second.

The first of the two is the Santa Ema Carménère from the Cachapoal Valley.  This wine is an extremely full bodied and elegant wine with the a lot of herbaceous notes.  There are some fruit notes in this wine but it is not a fruity wine, like at all.

The second of the two is a 2010 Adobe Reserva from Emiliana Wines, an organic winery in the Colchagua Valley.  This wine has a lot more acidity on the palate and has significantly more fruit forwardness.  There is a lot of tannin in both wines but where the first is supple and round this one is a lot more tart, even astringent.

So they are from different years and different areas of the same country and they could not be more different in style and flavour profile.  It is interesting to taste what comes from different terroir, especially from the same grape.  Distinctive styles from the winery play a role as well, so it would be interesting to try more wines from the same producer.

As a sort of flight tasting you would think that the structure of the wine would show through differences in style or year but that could not be further from the truth in this case.

Both wines were tasty but the Santa Ema was so much fuller in flavour and roundness there really is no comparison.  The Adobe comes from Organic grapes and it is sustainably harvested, so that makes you feel better drinking it but the tannic flavours get lost on the palate as it lacks the same balance of the Santa Ema.

We think we may need to do more of this style of tasting in the future (i.e. same grape, same country, different regions and producers).

So, our question of the day is, what other types of tasting parties do you normally think about having?  Flights (same wine, different vintages or same grape, different producers), blind or double tastings, or something even more interesting?  As always:

Keep on drinking!

Chris & Shannon