As far as Chilean Carménère goes this year it is hard to find a klunker but you never quite know do you? We put a Koyle Royale Carménère from the Alto Colchagua to the test.
Aroma: While many Chilean Carménères have a nice raspberry and strawberry touch characteristic of a lighter red wine this one has some serious blueberry and blackberry influences. There is no delicate in this one.
Palate: Full force and impressive blitzkrieg of blackberry and blueberry wastes no time in impressing your palate. There are tannins but they are broad based covering the entire mouth. A full bodied Carménère worth writing home about.
Personality: I am super confident of my excellence. You can enjoy me both as a foodie wine or a sipper. I have a distinct “on the heavy side” Carménère personality. No chemical crap on me as I am both organic and biodynamic. But no goat horn taste on me!
Cellarbility: An impressive wine now just you wait until 2024!
Food Match: A spicy Azorean Pico Island crab or beef dish. God knows where you might find that other than on Pico Island!!! Perhaps some sort of Szechwan beef or crab dish might be a substitute. Spice and garlic please!
In a Nutshell: Rich without being overpowering. Not lost in its fruit.
Price: $26.95. (Ontario)
RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 92/100. Patricio Tapia 93.
(Koyle Royale 2019 Carménère, D.O. Colchagua Valley, Viña Koyle, Fundo El Carmen de Los Lingues, Chile, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 27211, 750 mL, 14.5%,).
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