Errazuriz Aconcagua Alto Carmenère 2015
Chile’s vineyards were originally planted in the 1850s with Bordeaux varieties – among them was Carmenère. For 150 years Chilean growers thought they had a clone of Merlot in their vineyards. DNA testing proved it to be an ancient Bordeaux variety grape that had been wiped out by the phylloxera blight in the late 1860s. Now Carmenère has become Chile’s signature variety. A terrific example is Errazuriz Aconcagua Alto Carmenère 2015. Dense purple-ruby in colour, it has a cedary, blackcurrant leaf nose with vanilla oak note; medium to full-bodied, its juicy black currant and plum flavours fill the mouth finishing on firm but not aggressive tannins. It’s available at Vintages outlets for $21.95. Match it with red meat dishes. That’s Errazuriz Aconcagua Alto Carmenère 2015 from Chile. For post City Magazines, I’m Tony Aspler, 680 NEWS. ($21.95, Vintages #546424) (90)

Château des Charmes Sauvignon Blanc 2017
Ontario is making some very tasty Sauvignon Blanc these days. I was very impressed by a well-priced 2017 Sauvignon Blanc from Château des Charmes I tasted recently. Very pale in colour with a grassy green plum and green apple nose, it’s medium-bodied, crisply dry with grapefruit and green plum flavours and fresh citrus acidity. It’s got an intriguing touch of bitterness on the end taste to give added interest. It costs $15.95 on the LCBO’s general list. That’s Château des Charmes Sauvignon Blanc 2017 from Ontario. For Post City Magazines, I’m Tony Aspler, 680 NEWS. ($15.95, LCBO #391300) (89)