Wine Review - 2009 Junta Gran Reserva Cabernet Franc: Fantastic Chilean Wine

We decided to get this wine as part of our current fascination with Cabernet Franc.  We figured that the Chilean version from Junta Winery would put its own spin on things and we were right.  This wine is a crazy interesting version of Cab Franc.  It has a very interesting nose and is very dark in the glass.  The taste is much more elegant than a number of versions we have tried.

The dark colour is reminiscent of Cab Sauv or Malbec.  It is has a deep colour that has a Welch's quality to it.  There is a little thickness when swirled which holds up with the body of the wine.

When you smell it there is a very full bodied aroma to the wine which we really enjoyed.  It is a very bold smelling wine with a lot of vanilla which is evident from the 12 month in oak described on the bottle.  There is a dark fruit and also a little smokiness in the wine.

The taste of this wine really is the star of the show as it should be.  This wine has an elegance to it that really is appealing.  We noted the dark fruit in the nose that makes an appearance in the flavour.  Really this is a nice wine.  At $20 bucks it pushes the budget a bit but this is definitely a solid wine to take to a dinner party.

	Tasting Notes:	Score:
Sight (0-5)	Deep, dark malbec-like wine. Some thickness and structure that makes for a great looking wine.	4.5
Smell (0-5)	Lots of Vanilla, Plum, and Dark fruit. This wine has a very bold nose.	4.5
Taste (0-10)	This is a very elegant wine with solid fruit and balanced rounded tannins. Great tasting wine.	8.5
	Total:	17.5 / 20  (87.5)

This is a great tasting wine. Really solid stuff from Chile. Absolutely, worth a try.

Keep on drinking!

Chris & Shannon

PS - Upon further consideration we have bumped this one up to 87.5%.  We felt like it deserved a better score. :)