Winery: Viña Palo Alto

Wine: Reserva 2007

Location: Maule Valley, Chile

Purchased: Friar Tuck Beverage

Price: $8.51

At a recent wine tasting, Jonathan and I tried Viña Palo Alto Reserva 2007. Neither of us were blown away, what do you expect for $8.00? For the price, we decided to grab a few bottles. If nothing else, it could be our second bottle one evening. Trying to decide what bottle to open one evening, I suggested opening a bottle of the Viña Palo Alto Reserva 2007. I wanted to decant the wine since it was young to see if this would make a difference.

We opened the bottle and tasted. The Viña Palo Alto Reserva’s appearance was muted in the glass. The colors didn’t jump out the glass, but showcased light red hues. Most noticeably for me was the lack of fruit on the nose. Aromas of tobacco, earth, leather and oak filled the glass. The flavors on the palate were very similar to the nose with added accents of must, pepper and spice. The wine offered a nice medium finish. So we decanted the wine for an hour.

What a difference an hour makes. We sniffed, swirled and tasted again. The Viña Palo Alto Reserva was starting to open up, highlighting aromas of strawberries and raspberries on the nose. The palate was treated to an increase in pepper and spice. This was not your ordinary bottle of $8 wine. Viña Palo Alto Reserva 2007 is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Carmenère and 10% Syrah. Wine Spectator recently rated it an 89. And I’ll be picking up a few more bottles next time I’m at the store.