The G.A.P Adventures Top 5: Chilean Wines
If you’re an onophile, do we have the trip for you! Here are some of the top picks from gourmet cook and G.A.P Adventures’ VP Sales & Marketing David Bowen.
As G.A.P Adventures Adventure’s newest exploratory gourmet traveller trip nears, my frantic preparation consists mainly of visiting my local government-run liquor store here in Toronto, affectionately known as the “LCBO”, as I search for wines that you will surely get a chance to try in earnest, in person, if you join me on my trip this September 18th.
Below are five wines that have my nod of approval and should tickle our palates on the first three days of the journey in and around the city of Santiago, Chile.
I still have a few spots open, so please join me and help research next year’s new Gourmet trips, and if you can’t make it, well, enjoy the wines anyways.
1 – Almaviva, 1997 Red Table Wine, Puente Alto, Chile – $60: Vivid purple hue. Complex, shifting aromas of citrus blossom, black raspberry, black pepper and iodine. Velvety, opulent, concentrated black raspberry flavors; lush and intense with huge, ripe tannins and a bitter chocolate-coffee finish. Score: 94
2 – Casa Lapostolle, 1997 Clos Apalta, Apalta Valley, Rapel, Chile – $40: Shimmering, intense purple hue. Aromas of licorice and violets. Powerful black raspberry and powdered cocoa flavors; silky and smooth with a long, bittersweet chocolate finish. Score: 92
3 – Don Amado, 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Especial, Cachapoal Valley, Rapel, Chile – $20: Limpid purple hue. Sweet cherry blossom and cedar aromas. Opulent, intense, black cherry flavors; generous, ripe tannins and a long, lean, fruit-infused finish. Score: 91
4 – Montes Alpha, 1997 ‘M,’ Santa Cruz (Colchagua), Chile – $60: Deep ruby hue. Sweet oak and black cherry aromas. Sweet, juicy red plum flavors; lively acid, firm tannins and medium body with a dark chocolate finish. Score: 89
5 – Seña, 1996 Red Table Wine, Aconcagua Valley, Chile – $55: Vivid violet hue. Intense, shifting aromas of sweet cedar and violets. Concentrated, lively flavors of sweet black plum and caramel; silky and smooth, excellent balance with a long, fruity finish. Score: 92