The Desert Wine Guy - 2016 Porta - Estate Bottled, Gran Reserva, Single vineyard - Cabernet Sauvignon

 
    Ohhhhh yeah, Cabernet Sauvignon & Chocolate. Delicious? You betcha it is. Guys, I am not sure when this review will be posted but I can tell you that today is March 19, 2019 and the weather here in Las Vegas is absolutely wonderful. I did some finishing work in the Vineyard today and was able to perform a test flight of my Mavic Pro Platinum, Drone (WOW) which will certainly come in handy as I am currently also preparing for a trip to the Napa Valley in a few weeks where I plan to meet with the owner of One Acre Vineyards (https://www.acrewines.com/). The Drone will also come in handy as my long awaited retirement from my career has finally come and I do love to hike as well as check out the local Vineyards.
   Today I am going to be reviewing the 2016 Porta - Estate Bottled, Gran Reserva, Single Vineyard - Cabernet Sauvignon (http://www.vinaporta.cl/en). Say that in one breath. I spent $16.99 at my local Liquor warehouse last weekend but haven't had a chance to try it until now so here I go. The wine is from the Maipo Valley in Chile and comes in at 14% on the Alcohol scale and is Cork sealed. There is also a sticker on the bottle claiming that the wine was awarded 92 points by James Suckling but.....well.....we will see. As I have always said, wine is very subjective and my Palate might not be the same as his. The label, the label.....yeah. Since you went ahead and brought up the label, let's talk about it shall we :)

   Phenomenal, awesome marketing, perfectly thought out, professional, striking fear in the hearts of lesser Cabs. Wine lovers, I have to tell you that the label on this bottle initially is what caused me to pick up the bottle and ultimately sold the wine to me. I'm not going to lie to you guys, the fact that the bottle also had that sticker didn't hurt either. Look for yourself at the label folks, I am in love, are you in love? I will be devastated if the wine falls flat or doesn't live up to the implied promises of its label. The Fonts, the color of the Fonts, the layout of the words as well as what they said or implied, all top notch. Whoever designed the label of this wine deserves to be given tons of credit for a job well done.
   So now I get the opportunity to actually pour this wine and let you know exactly what I am observing in my glass and what I think about it. A medium Burgundy is how the wine chooses to initially present itself. Folks as the wine sits in my glass I see a wine that is probably as wonderful in color as it was when it was first bottled. I can't image that there has been any fading whatsoever in the three years and I don't foresee any in the near future, yes for real. True Cabernet Sauvignon lovers I need to tell you that this wine is staring back at me hard and screaming "you are going to love me, drink up and enjoy", creepy huh :) Now the description that I am giving you is the wines appearance in fairly direct Sunlight and yet the color is representing the varietal to the max. Looking at the wine as it sits on the table, it appears dark and foreboding, the visual power of a true Cab for sure. If the color of a wine were a movie genre this wine would be of the Thriller genre. I certainly hope that the rest of this wine is as impressive as it has been so far.

   Let me discuss the Nose of this wine for a minute. Where do I start is the question as this is a busy wine indeed? Let's begin with the notes of Toast, Smoke and Black Licorice as  those are the notes which are simply rushing straight from the bottle to my nose right now. These notes continue the impression at least that this wine is a very serious wine indeed. I myself love a Cab that presents deep dark notes as I am not a fan of Jamminess in my reds. The Bouquet is really important to the overall taste of the wine because you can't taste without smelling. Following these notes up is a note of light yet nonetheless very flavorful dark cherry. A decent hint of Bell Pepper is coming through as well for me to appreciate and I most certainly do. Now, of course folk I'm not done just yet as there is a Coca note as well which is expressed rather nicely. This note presents the vision in my head of a wine which expresses a semi richness on the Palate but yet is not on the strong side either. In all actuality the Cocoa is just enough for you to anticipate what the Palate will be experiencing soon. This Cocoa seems to be able to blend with the other notes and not quarrel over who is dominating or who will take a backseat when it comes to this aspect of the wines Bouquet. Overall the Bouquet of the wine is exposing more than enough to entice, no drag you into seeing what else this wine is just dying to offer you. By the way, I already know and........well, I'll leave it at that for now.
   So let's review what we have so far. Initial presentation on the shelf is a ten (10). Wines presentation in the glass, a 7.5 - 8. Bouquet of the wine, an 8.5. Things are looking excellent here folks and it is so hard for me to keep my feelings about this wine a secret and not give you my final rating on the wine right now so I MUST continue to move towards that right now.

   I want.....no need to tell you something before I go on. I do NOT like the new Fruit Forward red wines that are being put out today. I believe that this is where the "Generation Y" era of young adults is being marketed to. This is what is being presented in the case of Cabernet Sauvignon as a good or great example of the varietal and in my humble opinion, it is surely not! An overly fruit forward / sugary red is NOT what the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal is meant to be all about. I think that this has also become the new divide between a low to mid priced Cabernet Sauvignon. Pretty soon you won't be able to buy a Cab that is NOT fruit forward or overly sugary for less then $25. Anyway, this is just what I see coming on the Horizon.
   Now after my little rant, I want to talk about what this wine is presenting on my Palate and just how I feel about it. Guys, if a wine has a good or great (in this case) Bouquet, I think it is to be expected when that Bouquet transfers over to the Palate. This is the case with this wine as the Toast note that I spoke of on the Nose does indeed translate right over to the Palate. Combining with this note is one of mouth watering and in your face, Cassis. Together, these two notes really wake up and energize the Palate immediately. These notes of Cassis and Toast are not too light nor are they what I would consider to be overly dominant as they both display a drive or a determination to be noticed and they are indeed successful at performing that purpose extremely well. So let's talk about that transfer of Cocoa from the nose onto the Palate. This notes presentation seems to love to join in for the fun and when all three are combined together my mouth was melting in anticipation of what was next.

These three notes lay the foundation of this wine as they continue that seriousness to in the wine and that causes it to raise above so many of the other Cabs which are made for the weak of heart. One other point which I would like to bring to your attention is that combined these awesome notes are presented absolutely perfectly as to not overwhelm the Palate yet they are indeed most certainly tasted, thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated. Following up these notes very closely is a note of Green Pepper which appears to be almost lying in wait just after the opening of the wine and appears almost yet not quite around Mid-Palate. When I first took a sip of this wine and tasted these notes my initial hopes for an outstanding wine were just overwhelmingly happily reinforced. Now go ahead and sit back because I want to go ahead and add another Note which this wine displays so proudly and that Note is one of Black Pepper. This Black Pepper reminds me almost of the type found in another red varietal and that is the varietal of Tempranillo. If you have ever had the chance to sample a good Tempranillo then you will be able to identify this Black Pepper note right away. While this Black Pepper note is also certainly not dominating the Palate (nor should it) it is also another note that is presented with just enough power to influence the Palate nicely and not any more, expertly done Winemaker. Aside from these notes is a darkish cherry note which is exposed when the wine comes in contact with the sides of your Tongue. This note brings with it just a hair of Acidity and goes very well with that Black Pepper. How about Tannins there Desert Wine Guy? You say that you want Tannins huh? Let's talk about that particular note as the wine is not exactly shy in this department. Silky smooth Tannins are presented here but don't think that "silky smooth" means that you can't taste them or that these Tanning don't do anything for the wine or for that matter the Palate in general because they most certainly do. You will notice these Tannins and know that this wine has many more years of aging potential to it as well. A wonderful mouth feel with a bit of roughness type quality on the palate is what these Tannins are bringing to this wine.

Now don't misunderstand what I am saying as these Tannins will not take you attention away from the rest of the wine. With this note present the wine just continues it's upward climb to it's ultimate rating. So, you think that I have to be done with this review and that I am surely ready for the conclusion paragraph, right? If that is what you thought, you are wrong because I must talk about a note of dark smoke which the wine also presents.This is yet again another note that is also presented on the nose yet transfers over to the palate so perfectly. This note simply adds to the overall fruit darkness of this wine yet not to its detriment as the wine does have some really wonderful fruit just not that overly sugary or bright fruit which I feel ruins a great Cabernet Sauvignon. This note comes into play just after you place the wine into your Mouth and maintains itself throughout the wines presentation. Alright real Cab lovers, what would the wine be without some nice dark Plum which comes into play here?  I believe that in reality I have been tasting this Plum all along yet it was at first difficult to identify for some reason. Once you sit back and really give it an in depth evaluation you realize that you indeed have been exposed this dark Plum from the wines opening. That would of course mean the Note is sort of subdued but in a good way because it blends in so very well with the other notes. One last note guys and that is of leather. You wouldn't expect such a wonderfully smooth note at this price in a wine yet it is here, my goodness it's here. Okay wine lovers, I have come to the end of this review and it is indeed time to wrap things up. Let's get to the closing paragraph now.
   I am just in awe at this wine from Chile, Who would have thought that a wine like this, at this price point and NOT from the Napa Valley would bring such a raving review.

This is a truly awesome expression of a power Cabernet Sauvignon and not anywhere near a lame and poorly made fruit forward, Generation Y expression of the varietal. I don't want you to think that there is no fruit in this wine however guys because there certainly is, dark fruit. This dark fruit is part of what this wine is truly all about. This wine is also not a blend as it doesn't need to be. The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and that says something I believe in and of itself. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am actually elevating this wine three points past Mr. Sucklings rated 92 points and giving it 95 well deserved points. If you want more on this wine check this out (http://www.vinaporta.cl/resources/upload/b9ebabaeb87599bdc1815e261a8724f9.pdf)

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

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