2007 Chadwick

Wow. Aromas of black currant, plus a tiny hint of mint and lavender. Full body, with wonderful melted tannins that flow into the wine. Complex and beautiful.

The 2007 Vinedo Chadwick has a lot of vanilla-y new oak on the nose although there is plenty of voluptuous black fruit to support it. The palate is smooth and rounded with good weight. The richness really comes through on the finish, though it maintains fine delineation and offers great length. This should age very well. Drink 2013-2022. It was a pleasure to spend two or three hours in the company of Eduardo Chadwick at his estate and undertake verticals of his wines. Few have done more to promote Chilean wine than him, most notably with his blind comparisons with First Growth to demonstrate that Sena stands shoulder to shoulder with Old World icons. As you might guess, we had a long debate about that! But also, we engaged in a long discussion about viticulture and the philosophy behind his portfolio. Readers may remark on my relatively mean scores. I thought long and hard about this. But I firmly feel that recent vintages from Errazuriz completely outshine the older ones and speaking at length with winemaker Francisco Baettig, there is a sense of a winery changing tack and in my opinion, what this estate will produce in the next twenty years will completely surpass the previous twenty years. Importer: Vintus Wines, Pleasantville, NY; www.vintuswines.com

Inky ruby. A deeply scented bouquet offers black cherry, black raspberry, smoky minerals, mocha, licorice and spicecake. Dense but juicy and sappy, with intense sweetness to the dark berry and mineral flavors and a strong mineral spine. Impressively pure and graceful cabernet, finishing very long, vibrant and precise, with complex mineral, licorice and spice nuances. This seamless wine is balanced to repay patience. Yes, that's the correct price, and there's reportedly a waiting list for the 520 cases made.