WOW Tasting

This Thursday that past, Wines of the World (soon to be WOW) hosted a rather entertaining tasting at Salt Bar & Grill, Junction, of San Pedro’s 1865 range. Nicolás Claverie, from the holding company VSPT Wine Group, took as through it. I must give him credit in that he knew the wines intimately as well as the Chilean region (despite being French 😛 ). He equally responded to all our (my brother and myself) relenting questions sufficiently. I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

The Leyda Chardonnay was poured as a welcome drink and was rather insipid and tart. Simply craving a serious drink after being stuck in 3 hour Nairobi rain traffic, I couldn’t care much of what it was, I gulped it down to calm my nerves. Shortly after, when all had arrived we started off with the actual tasting.

1865 Sauvignon Blanc 2014

IMG_20150903_233406We kicked things off with a Sauvignon Blanc, the only (other) white of the night. The grapes were sourced from vineyards in the Leyda Valley. What a lifted wine this was. Undergoing some pre-fermentation cold soaking to extract additional flavour followed by purely stainless steel treatment, it was youthful and refreshing. Clean nose with hints of melon and green pepper; the palate had kiwi and citrus fruits with lemon acidity. The finish was a little short but mineral. This is the kind of wine you wouldn’t notice polishing off a couple of bottles as you sip uncontrollably. I would suggest though that you drink it within the next year, while it’s showing its best.

 

16

1865 Syrah 2010

With the grapes coming from the Cachapoal Valley, the wine was aged for a year in 95% French and 5 % American oak before spending another year in the bottle. The wine started off closed. With some wrist action resulting in feverish swirling, it opened up beautifully. It lead with clear dark fruits leaning more towards fragrant blueberries. Black pepper, smoke and dark chocolate followed giving it adequate intrigue. On the palate there was slight heat with some drying tannins to finish. It could still do with some aging, seeing its prominent tannins and lively fruit character. For now I’d have it with some food (like the grilled lamb chops it was served with).

16.2

1865 Carmenère 2010

IMG_20150903_232903This clear favourite for the night, was not supposed to be tasted initially. Nicolás’ generosity, however, shown through and spoilt us. It was a full and character driven wine that was made similarly to the Syrah. These grapes were sourced from Maule valley though. Being such an “obscure” variety, it had the crowd’s interest from the beginning (see post of the other Carmenère tasted here). What cemented it further was its layers. It was a synergistic mix of blackberries, green herbs, savoury meat and a slight sweet character. There was some light spicy liquorice and the finish a little astringent. The mid palate though was light and fresh; providing interesting contrasts of heavy flavours but showing finesse. I could keep this for a few years.

 

17.2

1865 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Last of the wines was disappointing. My first whiff of it had a strange pong to it that eventually blew off. Following that, it was rather closed and without much fruit. All that I could pick up was pencil shavings oak. The finish was short.

14.5

For explanation of my rating system check out my previous post here.

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