2017 Vina Perez Cruz Family Vineyards Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Maipo DO Chile 750 ml

In December of 2019, we took a trip to Chile in search of robust and vibrant Cabernet Sauvignon grown under the watchful eye of the Andes Mountains. We packed our boots and our water bottles, expecting to find what we were looking for in the rugged foothills leading up to those skyscraping peaks. Little did we know that our finest discovery—the “lush” and “very nicely crafted” Perez Cruz Reserva Cabernet—would be made in a chic wine bar in the nation’s capital.  

The 90-point 2017 Perez Cruz Reserva clocks in at a remarkable $17 but it drinks like a $30+ Cab. The effusive nose is full of dark fruit—blackberry, red and black plum, and black currant—unfolding to savory and mineral depths. As Wine Advocate wrote, “It has very good harmony and good complexity, developing some meaty notes and hints of iodine in the glass.” The Advocate concluded its endorsement by tapping Perez Cruz as a winery on the rise, noting, “The current wines are better than ever.” 

That review was published in February of this year, three months after we discovered it in Santiago. Subsequent vintages will likely see an increase in price as the Parker effect sets in. Luckily we got in on the ground floor: It's just $17 today on Wine Access. 

When we showed up to Bocanáriz, Chile’s first wine bar, we weren’t dressed for the part, but we’d heard so much about the finely curated list highlighting Chile’s most exceptional terroirs that we decided it would be worth a few sideways looks. We were right. 

The only direction we gave the sommelier was “Cabernet Sauvignon, por favor,” and soon we were staring into the dark, ruby depths of the 2017 Perez Cruz Reserva. After a second round paired with cucharitas de morcilla—medallions of blood sausage, garnished and served on porcelain spoons—we had given up any intention of actually setting foot in the vineyards. The wine was already taking us there. 

Bordered on the west by the Coastal Range and on the east by the Andes Mountains, Valle de Maipo, where Perez Cruz Family Vineyards is located, is a cradle of full-bodied and balanced reds characterized by dazzling freshness. Wine Enthusiast called it “the source for the lion’s share of the country’s best wines.”

At Perez Cruz Family Vineyards, perched over 1,500 feet above sea level in Maipo Alto, conditions are near-perfect for the late-ripening Cabernet, with deep, well-draining, rocky soils. Daytime highs rarely exceed 80 degrees. Then, in the starlit maritime nights, the mercury plummets to the low 40s. That dramatic diurnal temperature shift stretches out the growing season, bringing small-berry clusters to superb natural ripeness. 

2017 was a hot, dry growing season, reducing yields and resulting in incredibly concentrated grapes. Touched with 4% Syrah, 4% Carmenere, and 2% Petit Verdot, the Perez Cruz Reserva is, as Wine Advocate wrote, “more than just a varietal Cabernet.” A cross section of the best parcels on the estate, the 2017 wields a complexity characteristic of bottles more than twice the price, with 12 months spent aging in French and American oak adding further polish and spice. 

Of the nearly 200 wines we eventually tasted on that trip—many of them superstars in their own right—none put quality and price together in a package quite as irresistible as the 2017 Reserva. With depth and generosity, serene balance, kaleidoscopic complexity, and a price like this, you just can't go wrong.