Wine note – December 2023
2019 Errazuriz Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon (Majestic, Waitrose £12.99)
Your Christmas table is laden with a multitude of different flavours like turkey or chicken, sausages, bacon, vegetables and cranberry sauce. What sort of wine will stand up to all of that?
You need something with fruit, intense flavours and enough tannin and acidity to cut through the richness on offer.
A new world cabernet sauvignon red ticks all the boxes.
This wine comes from the Errazuriz estate in the Aconcagua.valley just north of Santiago in Chile. Cool breezes come from the Pacific Ocean to the west and water from the Andes to the east. Don Maximiano Errázuriz planted the first vines in 1870 and the top wines are named after him.
It’s mostly Cabernet Sauvignon but there’s Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot too, and even Syrah for a bit of extra fruitiness.
It has aromas of blackcurrants and oak and lots of cassis and spice flavours balanced by tannin and acid.
It’s widely available at £12.99 but on the Waitrose Cellar website it’s currently on offer at just £9.99.
Whatever you drink, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Cheers.
John Freeland (u3a Wine Tasting Group)
Great Glen Gardening Club – December 2023
