2016 Vina Estampa Gold Cabernet Sauvignon Blend Colchagua Valley Chile 750 ml

California Just Can’t Compete With This

Today, we’d like to introduce you to your new go-to Cabernet from Chile’s “Red Wine Paradise,” to quote Vogue. The 2016 Estampa Gold Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Colchagua Valley is a Decanter World Wine Awards Silver Medal Winner that earned 94 points for its “opulent and inviting” aromas and “lush palate.” 

The mastermind behind Viña Estampa’s complex bargain release is Attilio Pagli, a multi-100 point Tuscan winemaker who Decanter named one of the world’s most influential winemakers in 2015. He deftly channeled his expertise in this Cabernet, aging the Estampa in neutral French oak to showcase its brilliant fruit and spice. 

As much as we’d like to see more wines like this from Napa Valley, the truth is California can’t compete for Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends with the kind of fruit purity, balance, and depth winemakers are able to produce in wines from Chile at an under-$30 price. Maybe if Cabernet vines weren’t $400,000 an acre, we’d see more $25 beauties from Napa, but since the price of land isn’t likely to tumble anytime soon, savvy buyers are looking to South America, and Chile is it for Cabernet.

Chile’s wine-growing regions form a long narrow band that abuts the Andes Mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The Colchagua Valley is the epicenter for Bordeaux varieties, spread out over an area that begins at sea level, cascades over lower-lying Coastal Mountain Ranges, and climbs to over 16,000 feet in elevation. 

Grapes within this varying landscape are planted for the most part on well-draining soils, and Estampa, in particular, sits atop silty clay loam and clay. Here, in the center of the valley, near the city of Santa Cruz, a warmer Mediterranean climate persists—not unlike that of Napa Valley. Grapes ripen slowly and evenly over a long hot summer, developing powerful tannins and dark-fruit characteristics. 

Some critics have dubbed Colchagua “Chile’s ‘Napa Valley’” and whether you agree or not, the fact is the quality and consistency of under-$30 red from here is astounding. While your true Napa Valley powerhouse Cabernets are softening and mellowing in the cellar, this Estampa Gold is your budget-friendly, drink-now, drink-anytime, drink-often, Cabernet solution priced to stock by the case.