Nostalgia is a strange beast.  That sort of yearning feeling for an experience similar to one from before.  All sorts of things can cause the feeling of nostalgia, such as the smell of the ground on a rainy day, or the first days of fall where the dead leaves cast their spell on unsuspecting people walking outside.  2010 120 Santa Rita Carmenere reminds me of when I was starting to kindle my love of wine in college, and enjoyed many a glass in my apartment while working on a problem or watching Netflix.  That was a few vintages back, so can the new vintage fill the hole left by it’s predecessor? 

Sight: Bright pink and ruby edges on a dark centered wine.

Smell:  Blackberry, black pepper, mocha, and espresso on the nose.  Small traces of black cherry and raspberry.

Sip:  For a wine this young, it has a pleasant elegance and refinement.   It’s smooth, with enough acidity to stay lively, the tannins play background until just before the start of the aftertaste.  It has a wonderful blackberry espresso flavor hinted with mocha, black cherries, and slightly under ripe strawberries. [A.B.V. 13.5%]

Savor:  There’s a beautiful kind of wet earthiness that mixes with the blackberry flavors.  It’s slightly mouth drying, but pleasantly so.

Overall, it’s not exactly the same, but it’s still one of the best reds on the market for under.  This wine shows the promise that Carmenere has a varietal,  a strong, smooth, elegant wine with powerful fruit flavors that can also take oaking influences and grow with them.  While it is considered very similar to Merlot, this wine is better than the majority of Merlots on the market for under $10 as well.  Definitely seek out a bottle.

Verdict:  A lovely trip down memory lane.
Price:  $7.99
D.O. Valle Central, Chile
http://www.santarita.com/international/