If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Peng Wine.

Mission Codename: March of the PengWine

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Discover wines blended with the thought to be extinct Carménère varietal

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: PengWine

Wine Subject: 2003 Rockhopper Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Chris Millikan and Max Eyzaguirre

Backgrounder:

Wines from south of the equator have been extremely popular, most certainly because of the exceptional value and flavor of these wines. Chile is considered one of South America’s best wine regions. This wine is from the Maipo Valley located in the Central Valley Viticultural Region, the oldest of the designated regions in Chile. Maipo Valley is located just south of the capital Santiago.

We all know about Cabernet Sauvignon, but this wine incorporates the Carménère varietal into its blend. Once thought to be extinct, Carménère was rediscovered in Chile where it was used as a blending grape in place of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Carménère has a distinctive and often intense black-current flavor making it a great partner for Cabernet.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark purple and ruby in color with garnet edges. This wines long thick legs streak down the side of the glass when swirled.

Smell – Pronounced aromas of earth with a distinctive pine scent balanced against both sweet and tart raspberries and other wild berries, and spicy green bell peppers (or mild jalapenos).

Feel – Medium bodied that smooths out as it breathes, this wine is dry, with solid tannins and acidity that provides a mineral mouth feel.

Taste – If you have ever had the Mexican candy made from tamarind, this wine reminds us of that flavor. Its not exactly the same, but the tart fruit married with a distinctive spiciness that reaches the farthest corners of your moth is very nice.

Finish – This wine finishes long and smooth leaving you with its component flavors of fruit, mild oak and its vegital flavors.

Conclusion – Fans of Chilean Cabernets will naturally gravitate to this wine. It is an exceptional value and given the structure of this wine, it has aging potential as well. But I suspect you won’t be aging this wine, you keep reaching for another bottle.

Mission Report:

After my close call with the O.D.S.W. (Only Drink Super Market Wines – the evil arch nemesis of The Wine Spies), the HQ Op Center suggested I lay low for a while. I had the choice to be placed on administrative leave or head down to Chile to do some advance work on a unique grape varietal.

It doesn’t make a rocket scientist to figure out the decision I made. I was on the next plane to Santiago de Chile. Upon arriving, our local liaison officer, we’ll call him Mendoza, his identity a closely guarded secret, met me at the airport and we immediately headed south to the Maipo Valley. Just south of Santiago, the Maipo Valley is the most cultivated and famous of Chilean grape growing regions.

Mendoza had found a winery using the great Carménère varietal. Being the focus of this mission, I was very pleased to be making such headway on the mission. Carménère is a very unique varietal, once thought to be extinct, it was rediscovered in Chile hiding as a blending grape. Often used as Merlot and Cabernet Franc, its intensity of flavor make it an ideal partner for Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon.

We arrived in a small village just outside of Rancagua_. Once there Mendoza and I headed into a tienda and through the back door, where a few cases of, to my surprise, PengWine, sat. “What’s this?,” I exclaimed. We’ve already been monitoring PengWine. Mendoza smiled, stating simply, "_¿Por qué busca lejos?, Cuándo puedes buscar listo." Roughly, “work smarter, not harder.” Ponder that while sipping the 2003 PengWine Rockhopper Cabernet Sauvignon/Carménère blend.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The lush farms, orchards and vineyards of the beautiful Maipo Valley can be seen in this satellite photo.