2005 Santa Rita 'Medalla Real' Cabernet Sauvignon serious wine for the money
Tasting
Notes
2/26/08
Chile is world renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon and the Maipo Valley has distinctive characteristics which give Cabernets grown here a unique character found nowhere else in the world. The 2005 Santa Rita Medalla Real Cabernet Sauvignon showcases the Maipo Valley’s uniqueness with its earthy, loam and menthol, eucalyptus laden base to the dark fruit. The key is balance and this plays that fine line of ripe fruit and just the right amount of the mint component in proportion with the fruit without dominating or overpowering it. This gives the terroir of the Maipo with its distinctive imprint of menthol/mint but here it’s submerged into beautiful dark cherry and dark currant with an almost blue fruit pitch. Backed with a constrained loam underpinning, this shows excellent fruit purity as well as depth and structure to its fuller bodied frame. This should drink nicely over the next 5-6 years.
Food
Accompaniments
Beef, lamb
Awards,
Reviews and other Notes
91 pts Wine Spectator 4/09/08 Insider Broad-shouldered, with lots of tobacco, currant paste and loam backed by muscular structure. the dark, dense finish shows hints of cedar and roasted vanilla. Has lots of Pauillac-like gip. A terrific value. Drink now through 2014. 90 pts Wine Enthusiast May 2008
In the 2005 vintage, Medalla Real again ranks as one of Chile's most elevated under $20 wines (after a few less impressive years). The nose veers between herbal and ripe, while the palate shows nothing but pure cassis, cherry and Maipo terrior. It's tight, structured and still ready to drink. Juicy more than beefy; a real treat.
