Saturday night – “C” is for Chile – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

As I mentioned earlier, I had a red wine that I wanted to try – a 2004 Altaïr from Chile. The Altaïr is a Chilean wine that is made in a Bordeaux style with input from a Bordeaux wine maker, similar in concept to Opus One. I picked it up on a recommendation from an LCBO consultant earlier in the week which is why I wanted to try it now as the LCBO still has good stock on it.

"Monster sized beef"

The first thing anyone will notice about this wine is the bottle as it is easily the heaviest 750mL bottle I have ever come across!

The nose on the wine was a wonderful combination of blackberry, blackcurrant, cedar, black pepper and eucalyptus. Tasting the wine you are rewarded with a nicely balanced wine, though the alcohol/heat in the wine seemed a bit harsh at times. Good fruit with a cherry and currant flavour running throughout and a lingering finish. The wine did have a bit of young taste to it but the potential for how good this wine will be in a few years was very obvious. It was a great pairing with the beef tenderloin and ok with the vegetables. We had a little of the Altaïr left to go with dessert which was a Black and White chocolate cake and I really liked it with the cake.

"Heavy bottle"

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Altaïr Red 2004
Vintages 38430
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 52.40
Wine, Red Wine,
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Chile, Chile
By: Altair Vineyards & Winery

Release Date: Nov 22, 2008

Description - Altaïr is a joint venture between Laurent Dassault of Châteaux Dassault and La Fleur and the Chilean powerhouse, Viñas San Pedro. This is the fulfillment of Dassault's dream to find a vineyard where he could produce a 'grand cru' wine in Chile. This is only the second vintage for this wine but this collaboration is clearly paying off.

Tasting Note... Ripe black fruits persist through the pure finish. Cellar this beauty for 6-8 years and drink it through 2030. Score - 94. (Jay Miller, www.erobertparker.com, June 2007).

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 90, Mark – 91, Kathy – 91, Amy – 90, Overall – 90.5

The 90.5 rating means this wine squeaks into the Top Ten list in a 4 way tie for the 8th spot. This wine is deserving of that Top Ten status and I will be ordering a few more bottles to put down. I’m going to enjoy re-visiting the Altaïr in 3 or 4 years to see how it has matured.

Cheers!

Mark