Cousino-Macul Antiguas Reservas 1999

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I have to say, right up front, that I've never really cared much for Cabernet Sauvignon in unadulterated form. Although I can appreciate, intellectually, what's going on in my glass; I'm not personally keen on this varietal. I mean, there's a reason they blended the damned stuff in Bordeaux all those years, right?

Or at least - as I conceded, having this conversation with a colleague - none of the Cabs I've had in my admittedly meagre price range have appealed to me. Fortuitously this colleague was the new manager of our next-door sister store, the wine cellar. Perhaps, he suggested, part of my problem (aside from the obvious one of budget) was that I was drinking newly-vinted bottles of what is quintessentially a wine meant for aging.

So, he steered me to a bottle of this Chilean cab, buried and forgotten in a back corner of the store until he'd taken over. "There's your ticket," he told me confidently. "Already five years in the bottle, ready to drink now, and a well-made representative cab in the price range. Give that one a try, and let me know what you think!"

So tonight I opened it, and gave it a go. It was after supper, so there was no food pairing to complicate matters; just me and the wine. I decanted it, and sipped at my glass for a good hour and a half as it opened up. I still have half the bottle left, which I'll revisit tomorrow for followup purposes.

Being still a novice in these matters, I don't know how possible it is to muck with the Cab's varietal character; but with this wine the "Cab-ness" is unequivocal from the first sniff. The nose was very dark and pungent; the alcohol was very forward, and there was a definite hint of tobacco (a nice, mellow cigar, maybe).

My initial impression, at the first sip, was of the alcohol. I hadn't expected that to be so noticeable in a wine with five years on it, but I guess five years is a drop in the bucket...hey, I'm still a newbie, what do I know? The tannins and acidity were forthright but balanced, and not overbearing. Again, I'd expected more mellowness. There was lots of depth to the flavour, though; well-aged leather (my wife said "barnyard", but agreed that "leather" sounded better), the tobacco again, and a very dark concentrated fruit. My best comparison was black currants, but that doesn't quite cover it. I thought of an old-school cordial, but without the cooked flavour...just very, very concentrated.

At this point, my impressions were similar to other cabs that I'd tried. Ordinarily I like pungent, forceful flavours, but the cab sauvignon flavour profile has always left me cold. <shrug> I dunno, I just live in this head.

The passage of an hour, however, worked quite a change. As the wine became more oxygenated, the flavours opened up dramatically. The leather-and-tobacco notes were still there, but they'd faded gently into the background; as had the tannins and acids. The fruit came well to the fore and changed character. Where the currant flavours had been dark and concentrated previously, they now were expansive and much fresher-tasting. I was also picking up faint herbal notes which hadn't been there previously.

I was sorely tempted to pour another glass, but that would have meant cutting into tomorrow's ration, so I restrained myself.

Overall impression? Grudging respect. I'd still be inclined to reach first for a Cotes du Rhone, maybe, or something Italian, but I'm certainly more open to further research than I'd have been before tonight. This wine has lots of structure to it, and I think (admittedly, I have little to base this judgement on) that it would age well for several more years.

I'll be back tomorrow to append a followup, after the second tasting.

Anyone else tried this particular wine? I'd be interested in the opinions of more experienced palates.