2010 Lapostolle Casa Carménère hails from Chile, and represents the lost grape of bordeaux, Carménère. This deep purple grape can have a ton of black fruit and mocha notes, but not cost an arm and a leg.  It’s body is moderate, and it’s tannins tend to be gentle.  Better yet, most people haven’t had a lot of experience with it, so it seemed like the perfect wine to try on Christmas Eve.  Did it pair with the feast, or did it send coal?

Sight:  There’s a deep purple body, but the edges are sharply magenta.

Smell:  Herbaceous smells are a big deal with this wine.  There’s also a lot of wet earth, a large amount of plum, touches of tomato, and a soft cherry background player.

Sip:  It’s very tannic and green for a Carménère, but has nice black plum flavors, and traces of smoke.  It’s a bit on the acidic side, but not too much.  It seems young for some reason.

Savor:  The greenery and smoke linger with a bit of plum skin.

Overall, 2010 Lapostolle Casa Carménère is sort of missing a bit of something, and too much of other things.  For example, sometimes Carménère gets beautiful mocha and espresso notes with jammy raspberry.  Other times though it seems rough, unbalanced, and young.  This wine can be more elegant that Lapostolle Casa Carménère shows, but on the bright side, Carménère is cheap, so buy a bunch and try them all to find out what works best for you.

Verdict: Aeropostale Carménère
Price: $9.99
Rapel Valley, Chile