Dark, Smoky South American Shines

I’ve had one other Maipo Valley cab and while the grade here is the same (B+), they really couldn’t be more different wines.

The 2008 Tierra del Corazon Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon is an impressive Chilean cabernet by winemaker Roberto Carranca, Winemaker at Viña Indomita. It’s tough to find info on this specific wine, except in reference to the exact way I came about it: as part of Virgin Wines' Explorers' Club.

Still, it’s something worth sharing with you.

The 2008 Tiera del Corazon is dark in the glass, with a nearly-black core, lightening to bright, ruby red edges.

On the nose is a lot of smokiness. Some spice and oak, but lots of smoke. On the palate, there is very little red, or for that matter, black fruit. This medium-bodied, medium-finish wine is smoky smoky smoky, with hints of cedar and oak, tobacco and clove that dance around.

It doesn’t have the structure of a great Old World cab, and it’s not the crowd-pleasing fruit-forward New World style, either. But if the smoke'n'oak aroma paradigm is up your cabernet alley, then you’ll probably dig this.