Veramonte Winery is located in the beautiful Casablanca Valley, one of Chile's top wine growing regions. Casablanca Valley sits near the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Coast. It is a vineyard-based winery, which means it places its philosophical reliance heavily on the terroir of the site. The people of Veramonte Winery believe wholeheartedly that terroir designates the character and quality of the wines produced.
Veramonte has two wine labels, Reserva, red and white varietals and Primus, a red blend. Recently, I had the opportunity to taste the 2008 Veramonte Reserva Sauvignon Blanc, complements of the winery, and the 2005 Primus, which I purchased on my own. I enjoyed them both very much.
The Sauvignon Blanc was light straw in color with a slight green tint to it. It was nicely balanced and had nice acidity. Quite an array of aromas on the nose - citrus lemon, stone fruits, such as pear, and melon - cantaloupe. There is a nice herbal note to it as well. On the palate, medium bodied, zesty acidity, along with the same citrus, herbal and melon notes. I got a slight hint of endive, which could be attributed to the herbal. Definitely a great cocktail wine for sipping or for pairing with sushi, oysters, other seafood and salads.
Primus is a blend of Carmenere, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is luscious and could even be considered a tad sweet. It is deep ruby, or garnet in color. It is a pretty big wine, but the tannins are soft enough making it approachable now. On the nose, I get a lot of spice, jammy dark fruits, it's quite herbaceous. I also get some black tea, cedar and tobacco - cigar box, if you will. It is full-bodied, but velvety and luscious on the palate. I get the same spices and fruits - blackberry, plumb, black cherry. I get a hint of fresh mint on the palate as well. Overall, very well balanced with nice acidity. It has 14.5% alcohol, but it doesn't come through too strong. This wine spent 12 months in oak - 85% French, 15% American, 25% of that was new oak. This wine will go well with many red meats - grilled, roasted and seasoned many ways. It will also go well with some heartier soups and stews.
The deep ruby colour and blackberry, plum, and black cherry flavours sound exquisite.
Was this an expensive wine?
Posted by: Vino Vangelist | November 12, 2008 at 03:18 AM