Spot the 62 pointer – Viu 1 from Chile – and some Spanish
What does a 62 point wine taste like? Not that I follow scores for wine very much, but a 62 pointer? Man, that had to suck. Or, conversely, if you disagree with the critic giving the score, perhaps it was fantastic?
Daniel Posner (above, right), owner of the wine store Grapes The Wine Company, drew this review to my attention. The wine in question was the flagship Viu 1 from Viu Manent, a 75 year old winery in Chile. Writing in the Wine Advocate, Jay Miller had dropped the 62 on the 2006 while previous two vintages of Viu 1 scored 92 and 92+ respectively (about $60; find these wines).
So I dropped a line to Viu Manent through their web site and heard back from Jose Miguel Viu, managing director. He wrote: “We are in the process of evaluating the reasons why our wines were so poorly evaluated because, as you noticed, this is very unusual and was further aggravated by the fact that for the first time Wine Advocate decided to publish scores under 85 points…This is not to mention the excellent reception we have always had on other important publications. Viu 1 2006, for instance, became Wine Enthusiast Editor’s choice with 92 points on July’s 09 issue.”
A couple of more emails with Senor Viu established that Miller had tasted the wines at an event in Santiago organized by the Wines of Chile (see photos and a description of the tasting in a piece entitled “Jay Miller: Looking for Pleasure”). Further, Grant Phelps, the Viu Manent winemaker, said that the Viu 1 was “identical in almost every respect” to the 2003, 2004 and 2005, three vintages that he also made. Finally, Senor Viu offered to send me samples of the wines directly from the winery. I accepted.
But I didn’t want to taste them alone so I proposed to Daniel Posner that we could taste them together at his handsome new shop in North White Plains, NY. He then decided to invite his bitter Westchester rival, Max Marinucci (photo at the top; left) who owns the also handsome Wine Connection in Pound Ridge, NY, and one of his customers, Mark Franks, for lunch. It was very good to meet them both for the first time.
We settled into a booth and after a warm up tasting of some Spanish wines (described below) and moved into the Viu 1 vertical. Unfortunately I knew which wine was which but I concealed the identity of the wines from the others. From the heavy, bodybuilder bottle, I poured the opaque, purple/black wine in the glasses.
One person commented, “I’d give them all 62.” He followed up by saying that they are big wines that could be from anywhere and were broadly similar. But there was general agreement that the first wine tasted the best and that the last wine tasted different, more extracted, more dense, and bigger. “The wine that Miller would have liked the most,” as one taster put it.
But it turned out that was the 62 pointer, the 2006. Was it inferior? Sure. But 30 points worse, putting it in the realm of “a below average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor, or possibly dirty aromas or flavors”? Not to any of us.
As to the Spanish wine, Daniel had corresponded with Nola Palomar, a small producer of Spanish wines based in Andalusia. She had stated that she had trouble having the wines reviewed by the Wine Advocate despite being reviewed by Stephen Tanzer. Of the six wines, the 2008 Veleta Vijirieja stood out as a zippy summer sipper and the 2006 Veleta Noladas, a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and tempranillo had some interesting complexity; both were good values at under $15. Certainly more than 62 points!
Then we finished our lunch with a 1976 Lopez de Heredia Bosconia and a 1996 Ponsot, Clos de la Roche, split the bill, and headed out.
On June 24th, 2009 at 1:52 pm ,Daniel Posner wrote:
Tyler
It was great meeting for the first time. I enjoyed this lunch a lot.
On June 24th, 2009 at 2:21 pm ,Mark Franks wrote:
Tyler, great meeting you. It was a really good time and very eye opening for me.
On June 24th, 2009 at 6:12 pm ,Justin wrote:
I found it interesting that Dr. Miller neglected to provide any sort of tasting note for this wine. You’d think that if he was so passionate about its inferiority he’d provide some reasoning.
On June 25th, 2009 at 3:59 am ,corkdork wrote:
I’d honestly wonder if it was a typo, rather than a legit score of 62 — 9 is just above 6 on the keypad, after all, and perhaps Dr. Miller meant to give the wine a 92, but he (or his typist) mis-struck the key when keying in his score, and it was missed in copyediting?
Of course, the lack of a tasting note is disturbing, as much in that case as in the case of it being a wine worthy of a 62.
On June 25th, 2009 at 4:02 am ,caroline palla wrote:
I’m with corkdork. this has to be a typographical error
On June 25th, 2009 at 5:34 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
The formatting is a little screwy here, but here are the recent WA reviews for Viu Manent (the columns are vintage, wine name, score, drinking window, and current release price):
2004 Viu Manent Viu 1 92+ Early $50
2005 Viu Manent Viu 1 92 Young $65
2005 Viu Manent Malbec San Carlos Estate 91+ Young $24
2005 Viu Manent Carmenere Reserva 90 $14
2007 Viu Manent Malbec Reserva 89 Mature $14
2005 Viu Manent Merlot Reserva 88 $14
2006 Viu Manent Carmenere Secreto 88 $14
2005 Viu Manent Cabernet Sauvignon la Capilla Estate 88+ $24
2005 Viu Manent Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 87 $14
2008 Viu Manent Carmenere Reserva 87 $14
2006 Viu Manent Malbec Secreto 87 $12
2007 Viu Manent Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 87 Mature $14
2008 Viu Manent Carmenere Secreto 86 Mature $14
2005 Viu Manent Malbec Reserva 85 $14
2008 Viu Manent Viognier Secreto 84
2008 Viu Manent Sauvignon Blanc Secreto 82
2008 Viu Manent Malbec Secreto 79
2008 Viu Manent Chardonnay Reserva 75
2007 Viu Manent Syrah El Olivar Alto Single Vineyard 75
2007 Viu Manent Syrah Secreto 73
2007 Viu Manent Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 72
2007 Viu Manent Cabernet Sauvignon la Capilla Estate 69
2007 Viu Manent Malbec El Olivar Single Vineyard 65
2007 Viu Manent Malbec San Carlos Estate 65
2006 Viu Manent Viu 1 62
So it clearly wasn’t a typo. And as Justin pointed out above, there was no tasting note.
Here was his note for the 04 Viu 1, rated 92+:
The 2004 Viu 1 ranks with the finest Malbecs of my Chilean tastings. It is exceptionally fragrant with scents of vanilla, lead pencil, blueberry, black cherry, and blackberry which jump from the glass. This is a large-scaled, full-bodied wine with enough structure for long-term cellaring. It should drink well through 2027.
Importer: Bacchus International LLC, Longview, TX; tel. (903) 553-9463
And the 2005 Viu 1
The winery’s flagship is the 2005 VIU 1, a blend of 88% Malbec and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Opaque purple-colored, it offers a superb aromatic array of pain grille, pencil lead, spice box, black cherry, plum, and blueberry. On the palate it is layered and opulent with enough structure to evolve for 4-6 years. There are gobs of spicy blue and black fruits, savory flavors, and a succulent, rich finish. It should be at its best from 2012 to 2025.
These were the two Viu Manent wines of fifteen submitted to merit recommendations.
Importer: Wine Symphony Inc., New York, NY; tel. (212) 226-8283
On June 25th, 2009 at 8:01 am ,Daniel Posner wrote:
This was not a typo and was addressed here…
http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=201055&highlight=manent
On June 25th, 2009 at 8:17 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
There’s a discussion of this over on a Russian livejournal page. See the google translation here.
On June 25th, 2009 at 9:21 am ,Denis Roudenko (Daily Winegraph) wrote:
Thank you for information, its very interesting. I will buy this wine for next “blind” testing in our wine club.
On June 25th, 2009 at 11:08 am ,Tish wrote:
Wow, you would think that a publication that bases its whole identity on consumer advocacy would at the very least have added some context to a wine given a 62 point score after years of previous high scores.
This reminds me of years-ago examples of WS’s James Laube giving Ch. Montelena horrid scores. I don’t want to even paraphrase the Montelena situation here, for fear of getting the whole context wrong, but my point for now is that at least Laube did not dangle the score out there like an isolated stinky sock. He couched it in further analysis, because the score alone was nothing more than a shockingly bad grade.
How in the world does the Wine Advocate think it serves readers to publish such a rotten score with absolutely no further tasting note or analysis?
Adding this egegious ommision to the fact that WA routinely AVOIDS publishing sub-84 scores, and the curious anecdote from the Spanish producer, Nola Palomar, and this certainly appears to smack of retribution.
Of course, “appearance” counts for nothing in the high-stakes world of wine criticism. As I have noted previously on my blog, virtually every major publication in the U.S. that rates wine does so with zero transparency. They are Sausage Factories: wine goes in, scores come out. We know little about what goes in in between, and we probably don’t want to know.
At the very least, suddenly publishing a 62-point rating for a wine that had been consistently rated highly is an insult to WA subscribers, and a chest-thumping show of clout by the infamous Dr. Jay.
On June 25th, 2009 at 11:48 am ,Alan wrote:
I’m glad someone brought this up. I had a chance to taste some 60-80 wines recently at the Wines of Chile tasting in New York. Based on my tastings (and with no awareness of the WA scores), I picked Viu Manent out of the pack of wineries as one producer that was making wines that were distinctive, and decided to spotlight them in my video series about wine.
In doing research before my interview with Grant Phelps, the winemaker, I came across the WA scores and was puzzled, just like all of you. Since there are no notes, I tried to think about what the reason behind the scores was, as it certainly didn’t jibe with my ratings on the wines. The only thing I could think of is that some of the Viu Manent wines have a character that I might describe as herbal, perhaps a tad vegetal (but in a good way in my book). This is part of the distinctiveness that I saw in the wines – showing character, not hiding behind oak, etc. I concluded that perhaps Mr. Miller decided these wines didn’t fit the WA definitions for ripeness – were they “green” or “unripe”? Not to me, but then, I’ve often felt that the WA takes its mantras about “ripeness” and “concentration” too far, as if more is always better, and any deviation is a flaw. I have no idea if this is what it was about, but if I had to guess, this is what I would venture. A shame, as one of my favorite wines was the El Olivar malbec, which also got a score from WA that was utterly puzzling to me. Given the track record of the VIU, I have to wonder if Mr. Miller retasted from other bottles to rule out the possibility that he had tasted flawed bottles in the first place.
In any case, I stand by my assessment that Grant Phelps is one of the winemakers to watch in Chile. I will try to get my interview with him up on my site soon, but for what it’s worth, as of last week, the 2003 VIU was tasting mighty fine.
On June 25th, 2009 at 12:19 pm ,Daniel Posner wrote:
Alan
I read your notes on the Parker board. In my opinion, 2006 was very different from the 2005 and 2004, with the 2005 being the “highlight.” Considering the price, I was unimpressed with any of these wines, however, Miller was very impressed with the 2004 and 2005. Based on the style difference of the 2006 (which was clear for all of us), we all kinda assumed he would like the 2006 more, but to be honest, it was the worst of the bunch. 62 points “worse”? Well, if you give the 2004 and 2005 a 92, there is no way the 2006 gets a 62. It is not my style, but it is not that bad.
Interesting to note that whenever anyone has asked Miller to publish a tasting note on any wine that he has just given a score to (40% of his PUBLISHED reviews contained no tasting note in February), he has been unwilling to oblige.
I asked him for a note on 2005 Armador Cabernet 2 years ago, when he scored a $9 wine from Chile 91 points. I wanted to see what he tasted to merit such a high score. I asked twice and was ignored twice.
It would not surprise me if he just wrote scores and no notes while tasting some of these wines. After all, if you taste 200-300 wines in a day, do you have time to write much down?
On June 25th, 2009 at 12:43 pm ,Sergey Eliseev (smyslov) wrote:
Dear Tyler!
Thank You very much for Your attention to my blog. Now I publish the results of my small investigations about the situation with Viu Manent.
http://smyslov.livejournal.com/931498.html (Google translate here)
It seems for me that now we see the last part of Robert Parker story…
On June 25th, 2009 at 3:10 pm ,Dylan wrote:
It’s unfortunate for the winemaker. Looking at the list it must be aggravating to start out with such a strong lead and consistently drop in rank year after year. However, based on the exchange Tyler had it seems they’re confused by the score themselves–as though nothing is being done differently, nor do they taste anything different between the 92-level wines they were making compared with this one.
On June 25th, 2009 at 9:50 pm ,GregT wrote:
Nola’s Vijirieja is really good actually. Good to see it get some positive comments. I just had her rosado from last year and it was great.
But going back to the main part of this story – why the hell was I not invited to that tasting!!!!! I knew about it and checked my email and nothing!!!
Anyhow, I don’t see a big scandal here. Dr Jay tasted a photo prop accidentally, and you and Dan and Max (of the endless spam) tasted the correct version of the wine and brought it to the attention of Dr. Jay and the winery. Then Dr. Jay retasted the correct wine, which as a pro, was exactly what he should have done. Seems just about right. If he left the original score, he’d be a jerk. If he corrected it, he’s doing his job. As were Tyler and Dan.
On June 25th, 2009 at 9:57 pm ,Alan wrote:
As Greg alluded to, the mystery is solved: http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=204982
I’m glad to see this ends well for all, especially the folks at Viu Manent.
On June 25th, 2009 at 11:02 pm ,Denis Roudenko (Daily Winegraph) wrote:
>> As Greg alluded to, the mystery is solved
I wonder, was it 5 different bulk wines in different bottles for one photo promo or it was the same bulk in all bottles for 62, 65, 65, 69, 75 points?
On June 26th, 2009 at 11:26 am ,Tish wrote:
Lo and behold, MYSTERY SOLVED! Even still, here are three important questions:
1. Why did Jay Miller not inquire himself upon seeing such a precipitous drop off?
2. Would anything have been corrected had Daniel Posner not done this tasting and Tyler not done this post?
3. What the heck is a 62 or a 92+ anyway?
On June 26th, 2009 at 6:48 pm ,Esteban wrote:
Agree with Tish 100%. Why were these scores published without following up w/ the winery first, given how far out of whack they are? The publication of a 62 just seems punitive, given their history of not printing low scoring wines.
Tyler, in your conversations with Viu, the notion of “prop” wines never came up, seemingly. I’m curious about the timeline. When did you and Viu interact? And then, I would ask Jay, when he got HIS letter from Viu.
Right now, this still seems out of whack.
On June 27th, 2009 at 11:46 am ,wearable vegetables wrote:
A Room with a VIU is better than a room without. This wine is outstanding. I think the Chili wine gets a bad rap because of wine politics,not because of poor performance.Check out wine humor.. ..www.wearablevegetables.com
On June 27th, 2009 at 2:34 pm ,gary wrote:
Tish,
After what RP did in releasing his Bordeaux scores during EP causing prices to increase instead of allowing the campaign to continue and flater as it had been doing shows that he is no consumer advocate.
On June 28th, 2009 at 12:25 am ,David Phillips wrote:
I can’t believe I actually read through all of you idiots discussing Chilean wines and their scores on Robert Parkers website. How blithering can you all be? Find some wines with some sense of terroir for god’s sake.
On June 28th, 2009 at 2:30 am ,Justin wrote:
David Phillips,
Way to be a troll.
Get bent.
Love,
The rest of the world
On June 29th, 2009 at 2:53 am ,Austin White wrote:
Hi, very nice post. I have been wonder’n bout this issue,so thanks for posting
On June 29th, 2009 at 6:55 am ,Nola Palomar wrote:
Since my post on wineberserkers, Jay Miller has tasted my wines and he has stated that he liked them all, well enough to recommend them. He sent me an email this morning and stated they would be published in the supplement to Spain report. I wanted to set the record straight so people don’t think he has ignored my plea to recognize us as a small producer and even smaller importer.
On June 29th, 2009 at 2:34 pm ,Joey wrote:
When I saw Miller’s post it demonstrated how childish he is and the lack of class he has by the shot he took at Dr Vino and Dan Posner.
It also came into my mind that the folks of Viu Manent did a great job on this issue. Got lots of exposure from the controversy, cleaned up a little bit of Miller’s tarnished image by retasting the wines and bailing him out from his lack of tasting skills and in return they got a 90+ point score on a wine that was originally rated 62 points. I could bet the farm that as payback to the Viu Manent folks Miller would never give them another lousy score on their wines. Brilliant move.
It would be interesting to split the contents of a magnum bottle into two 750 bottles and serve them blind to Miller to see how he scores each one of them!
No wonder he does all the tastings with the bottles uncovered so he could rate them based on the label and/or the story that the importer tells him. It is amazing that there are still folks that take his wine recommendations seriously.
On June 29th, 2009 at 3:02 pm ,Daniel Posner wrote:
Well said, Joey. Viu Manent comes out like a hero in this one. Even Jay tries to twist into him being a hero. Meanwhile, he has been asked many questions on the thread he started and he just ignores, while the apologists come in and ask the others to please be quiet, because you will awake the sleeping giant…again. I am surprised that Jay Miller has not been banned from posting. If he kept his mouth shut, maybe people will forget all of the free shit he took form his friends, importers, wine trade organizations, etc.
On June 30th, 2009 at 2:13 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Thanks for the recent comments here; I’ve been traveling and haven’t been able to respond to recent developments in this story such as Jay Miller’s posting to the forums on erobertparker.com that the wines he tasted were apparently prop bottles for a photo shoot filled with bulk wine. In response to the comments above, here are a few more details on how things unfolded from my end.
Congratulations to Viu Manent for the 28+ point boost! The only trouble is that they had to endure two months of reputation loss for a wine that was largely the same as the previous vintage (which in and of itself can be a challenge given Chile’s apparent alternation between good years and bad years).
When I first saw the precipitous decline in the score of Viu 1, I raised a quizzical eyebrow and contacted the winery directly.
Why, when he tasted the wines, did Miller not immediately say that there was something wrong with the wines (especially given that he had liked the wines in the past) and request new bottles? Or at the very least, make an inquiry with the winery before going to print?
As to the chronology of events that someone asked about above, I sent my query to Viu Manent at 8:30 AM on May 6. It turns out that later that same day, Viu wrote the head of Wines of Chile in Santiago pleading with him to intervene and contact Miller. The full letter is available here. But here is one paragraph expressing his plight:
Viu replied to me the next day, writing “Our belief is that the samples considered this time cannot possibly be the right ones, but we are still trying to determine what happened by contacting Dr. Jay Miller.”
* * *
I later received the sample wines, let them rest from their journey, and tasted them as per the above post. The day after my post, Miller posted in the forums of erobertparker.com with his new scores. If I hadn’t posted, when would Miller have provided this update to his readers? Will he be informing his readers in the next print edition of the newsletter? Will the scores be adjusted in the database with an asterisk?
If the bottles supplied were these bottles filled with bulk wine, why were the scores so divergent? (75), (65), (69), (65), and (62). If they were all bulk wine, shouldn’t they have all tasted the same? And what is a “90+” the 2006’s new score?
* * *
It’s interesting to note that Posner, a retailer who was at the Viu tasting, wrote on Friday to his customers offering some Argentine wines and swearing off using Miller scores:
On June 30th, 2009 at 5:32 pm ,Daniel Posner wrote:
Tyler,
Great analysis. The greatest part about Miller’s cry for support on the Robert Parker censored bulletin board, where I am unable to reply to his cheap shot, is that even though he posted this stuff nearly one week ago and even though he retasted and rescored these wines over ONE MONTH AGO, the scores on the Robert Parker website have still not been adjusted.
I am sure that they will be immediately after I type this as no doubt that they lurk here.
If they were that concerned with a winery’s reputation, one would think that Dr. Jay would have acted more professionally in this matter, however, as we have come to know now, there is not much professionalism going on down in Maryland these days.
I will post after I see the scores change online there. I guess the mainframe needs to be turned on first!
On July 3rd, 2009 at 6:49 am ,Cositas y cosotas: 03.07.2009 « La otra botella wrote:
[…] ya publican reseñas de vino con puntuaciones menores de 85. Hay una curiosa historia sobre eso en Dr. Vino, por si les va el […]
On July 15th, 2009 at 1:17 pm ,Daniel Posner wrote:
The 62 pointer is officially a 92+ on the Parker site, FYI. Not a 90+, as Miller had originally indicated. I guess the wine, after one month in the glass, kept getting better and better.
On July 22nd, 2009 at 6:23 pm ,Jamie Goode wrote:
Liked the ‘split the bill’ line – was that for dressner’s benefit?
On August 3rd, 2009 at 10:33 pm ,JOSE MIGUEL VIU wrote:
DEAR TYLER.
I WANT TO THANK YOU PUBLICLY FOR HAVING INITIATED THIS DEBATE ABOUT THE UNGRATEFUL SITUATION THAT AFFECTED OUR EMBLEMATIC WINE, VIU 1 VINTAGE 2006 ( AND OTHER WINES OF VIU MANENT), IN THE LAST REVIEW OF CHILEAN WINES,BY THE WINE ADVOCADE.
AS YOU KNOW, AFTER MY LETTER TO DR. MILLER, HE GENTLY ACCEPTED TO TASTE AGAIN VIU 1 AND SINGLE VINEYARD RANGE; MY ONLY INTENTION WITH THIS REQUEST, WAS TO IMPROVE DR. MILLER’S IMAGE OF THE WINES. SINCERELY, WE WERE ABSOLUTELY SURPRISED WITH THE PUBLICATION OF NEW RATINGS.
THANKS TO DR. JAY MILLER TO GIVE US THIS OPORTUNITY, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR THE PUBLICATION OF CORRECTIVE RATINGS. I BELIEVE THIS IS SOMETHING WITHOUT PRECEDENT, BUT IN THIS SITUATION, COMPLETELY JUSTIFIABLE. CERTAINLY, AN ACT OF COMPREHENSION AND GOOD FAITH, THAT INCREASES MY RESPECT FOR HIM AND THE WA EVEN MORE.
THE DEFINITIVE RATINGS ARE THE FOLLOWING:
VIU 1 2006 92 POINTS
VIU MANENT SINGLE VINEYARDS
SAN CARLOS MALBEC 2007 91 POINTS
EL OLIVAR MALBEC 2007 90 POINTS
LA CAPILLA CABERNET S.2007 90 POINTS
EL OLIVAR ALTO SYRAH 2007 90 POINTS
THANKS TO EVERYBODY FOR THE INTEREST AND SUPPORT.
JOSE MIGUEL VIU
MANAGING DIRECTOR
VIU MANENT
On August 3rd, 2009 at 10:51 pm ,Daniel POsner wrote:
Jose Miguel
Did Jay Miller taste these wine blind?
Were you present when he reviewed the wines?
Did you share a meal with Jay Miller or did you just fly from Chile to Baltimore, pour a few wines and fly back to Chile?
If there was a meal, who paid?
Are you aware that the 2006 Viu 1 was originally scored 90 points by Miller and now it is mysteriously a 92 point wine?
On August 4th, 2009 at 12:01 am ,JOSE MIGUEL VIU wrote:
Daniel,
I made a trip to participate in the Wines of Chile tasting in NYC and from there I went to Baltimore to met Dr.Miller (for the first time)on June 2nd. I brought a vertical of Viu 1 (5 vintages)to put in context the 2006 vintage, and mini verticals of the single vineyards range (3 vintages of each) plus the first vintage of Syrah single vineyard and Malbec Single vineyard, both from El Olivar Estate, in total 13 wines.
The tasting was not blind and I was present when he was tasting but he didn’t made comments about the wines, the tasting took about 30 minutes. No meals.
Regarding the new rating of Viu 1 2006, I only saw it at WA online rated with 92 points.
Best regards,
Jose Miguel
On August 4th, 2009 at 9:13 am ,Daniel Posner wrote:
Thanks Jose Miguel.
A shame you go to Baltimore (240 miles from NY) for 30 minutes.
The new policies of the WA will not allow you to even have a meal with Jay Miller, despite your efforts.
FYI, here is the review from Miller on 2006 Viu 1.
Maybe you ought to ask for clarification…although the higher score helps you out, it once again shows the sloppiness of the WA…
“The note for the 2006, (the 62 pointer) is as follows: “Youthful, structured, slightly chunky, with coffee/mocha notes, black cherry, and blueberry. On the palate the wine has tannin to resolve but with the requisite quantity of fruit. Give it 3-4 years and drink it through 2018. My score: 90+”-Jay Miller
On August 15th, 2009 at 8:29 am ,JOSE MIGUEL VIU wrote:
Daniel, sorry not to answer before and thanks a lot for the note!!
On November 16th, 2009 at 4:01 pm ,The Amateur Wino » Blog Archive » Episode 9 Part 1: Viu Manent winemaker Grant Phelps wrote:
[…] tasted at the Wines of Chile event in New York. Some of you may have heard about Viu Manent from this post on Dr. Vino’s blog; this interview was recorded before that blog post and the events that […]
On January 4th, 2010 at 10:16 pm ,Guglielmo Rocchiccioli wrote:
I would like to share my winetasting of Viu Manent in order to point out the pairing and the matching wine-food.
VIU MANENT RESERVA CHARDONNAY VALLE DE CASABLANCA FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1935 PRODUCIDO Y EMBOTELLADO POR VIU MANENT Y CÃA. LTDA. – CARRETERA DEL VINO KM. 37 COLCHAGUA – CHILE 2007 14,5%
NARIZ: a la nariz no se hace interesante con el pasar del tiempo con una sucesión de perfumes verdaderamente envolvente como mantequilla, vainilla, fruta tropical, limón, yerbas frescas, flores del campo y margarita.
BOCA: en la boca es robusto y persistente en igual medida; el cierre es correspondiente con lo que se habÃa identificado a la nariz, o sea limón, fruta tropical y mantequilla. El final de boca te despierta y te da la gana para buscar otro trago y descubrir algo de nuevo; los ligeros escalofrÃos que corren en el paladar intentan acordarte los grandes blancos franceses.
MARIDAJE: filete de pollo en salsa de champiñones
OPINIÓN PERSONAL: un chardonnay que entusiasma, y una hacienda que convence cada dÃa más. Quiero considerarlo como uno espacio intermedio entre un placentero vino blanco con final almendrado de la Cerdeña (Italia) y un emocionante chardonnay de la Borgoña (Francia). Encima de todo eso, cuando el vino se calienta, la vainilla se transforma en un olor de confetti de una boda de septiembre en mi amada Toscana (Italia).
VIU MANENT SINGLE VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON – LA CAPILLA ESTATE MIGUEL VIU MANENT – COLCHAGUA – CHILE VALLE DE CASABLANCA PRODUCIDO Y EMBOTELLADO POR VIU MANENT Y CÃA. LTDA. – CARRETERA DEL VINO KM. 37 COLCHAGUA – CHILE 2006 14,5%
NARIZ: al examen olfativo es un vino chileno al 100%: grandes variedades de perfumes bien definidos con una riqueza y una fineza de nariz verdaderamente excelentes con cereza, mora, mermelada, vainilla, sotobosque, humus, yerbas secas, tostado, mentolado, violeta y rosa de bosque.
BOCA: en la boca es un vino fuerte y corpulento aunque la persistencia no es excepcional; el cierre es con yerbas y leño con una discreta elegancia. Se trata de un vino bien hecho porque no se siente el alcohol.
MARIDAJE: pasta con salsa boloñesa
OPINIÓN PERSONAL: con un primer plato de pasta acompañado con un guiso de caza de manera que el tanino del vino contraste la acidez de la receta y la tendencia dulce del preparado alimenticio se oponga a la sapidez de la bebida. En resumida cuenta, la salida es la de una Ferrari en pole-position en el Gran Prix de Montecarlo, pero desafortunadamente, la llegada no permite al equipo de competir para la ganancia final en la clasificación.