ERRAZURIZ | Estate Series | Cabernet Sauvignon | 2016
cabernet sauvignon

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Today we are going to review a single varietal cabernet sauvignon wine – the world’s most popular grape variety – Estate Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 by Errazuriz. The cabernet sauvignon grapes for this wine are sourced from selected vineyards in the Aconcagua and Maipo valleys of Chile, where climacteric and geographical conditions are ideal to allow grapes to reach perfect ripeness, preserving their acidity and freshness. After three weeks of maceration, the wine spent its entire fermentation period in stainless steel tanks and only afterwards it was blended and aged for seven months in french and american oak barrels in order to obtain rounded tannins and smoother texture on the palate. But enough with the theory, without further ado let’s move straight to the tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Deep and noble ruby color, not too deep nor opaque, with ripe pomegranate shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with black fruit and savory flavours: overripe sour cherry, black soil dust, overripe blackcurrant, venison meat, black plum, black cherry, rose hips, black mulberry, overripe blackberry, cherry tree sap and some nuanced hints of licorice. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of black pepper, nutmeg, charred oakwood, tobacco, black tea, roasted oakwood and some very nuanced hints of smoke.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and rough tannin. It feels angular, bitter and austere, with a quite opulent, seedy-tart accent. This is a quite rough, sharp and woody wine, as it tastes bold and aggressive on the plate with nuanced smokiness – a wine that is quite a bit off its balance, as it lacks harmony, structure and any form of elegance. This is an overripe, fruit-forward cabernet sauvignon wine that has a touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel and a fair overall balance.

Aftertaste
The wine has a medium-plus finish and a rough, bitter and sharp aftertaste.
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This is definitely a good wine of Chile and, with a total of 89.5 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Conclusion: this is a very youthful and angular cabernet sauvignon wine that is quite a bit off its balance – a wine that is not yet there, at its best – one that requires a couple more years of bottle ageing, as in its current form it lacks any form of harmony and elegance. It tastes rough, woody and sharp, with overripe fruit and the aggressive tannin – a wine that does not hold any promises for further development in the bottle. Overall this is a firm, full-bodied cabernet sauvignon wine, with a bitter-tart mouthfeel and a quite angular, smoky finale. We would suggest to pair this wine with spicy/barbequed meats or highly scented cheeses, like for example a butter-basted rib eye steak with thyme and garlic or a baked camembert cheese, so that all the sharp edges in the wine will be counter-balanced by the deep flavours and rich proteins of the dish. Cheers!

WineStatistics tasting results:

ERRAZURIZ
Estate Series | Cabernet Sauvignon | 2016

grape: | cabernet sauvignon |

region: Chile | Aconcagua & Maipo

overall rating: | 89.5 |

maturity: on the rise

conclusion: good | (recommended)

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© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.