Los Rosales Chapel Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Its been a really big slump in the wine drinking here in Brownsville.  I occasionally get comments from readers lamenting the fact that we're really not posting too much lately.  So a couple weeks ago I dove into our stash and pulled out one of our Wall Street Journal Wine Club Cabs to go with a Sunday steak dinner.

I pulled out a bottle of 2011 Los Rosales Chapel Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from the Rafael Valley in Chile.  The Cab had a big bold nose with lots of dark fruit and mineral.  Then the first sip.  Unfortunately my first impression was that the wine was awful.  It was compact, bitter, and I was even wondering if it had already turned. 

However, not being a person to let things go to waste I decided to let it breathe and give it another try.  I'm glad I did.  After resting in the glass and breathing for a good thirty minutes the Cab opened up, and the bitterness mellowed. It turned into a decent little wine.  After breathing you could make out a lot of cassis, mineral, and spice in the back of the palate. 

If you get this wine, let it breathe.  It may even be good to cellar it for a few years to see if that mellows things out.  I would recommend using a decanter and letting the wine breathe for at least an hour.  If you're not going to finish it in one setting then you can do the one glass decanting like I ended up doing.

The 2011 Los Rosales Chapel Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon costs $14 a bottle, and you can order it at the Wall Street Journal Wine Club's website: www.wsjwine.com.