Viña Ventisquero, Colchagua Valley (Chile) Carménère 2017

 I’ll start and end with the same line:  This is an absolutely outstanding example of the breed.  The Apalta sub-region of Chile’s Colchagua Valley is the world epicenter for the Carménère variety, where the best examples achieve full, graceful ripeness, resulting in wines of excellent richness with no green aromas and balanced acidity.  The aforementioned “green” aromas or vegetal notes are definitely NOT inherent to this variety (as some inexperienced writers have mistakenly maintained), though they do show up in lesser renditions that aren’t fully ripened when picked.  The variety often needs a full two weeks after Cabernet Sauvignon to get fully ripe, though things get dicey if it is left to hang too long on the vine, as natural acidity can drop quickly, necessitating addition of powdered tartaric acid that can seem un-natural finished wines.  All of this is to say:  Carménère is not an easy variety to make into excellent wine, so it is important to buy quality renditions from the best producers and locations.  This wine is exactly that.  Full-bodied but not heavy, and faintly herbal but definitely not “green,” this offers varietal distinctiveness and lots of little nuances, thanks to deftly measured oak and sufficient time in bottle prior to release to let the wine’s structural, aroma and flavor elements integrate fully.  The packaging is beautiful (though some will lament the heavy bottle) and the wine is rock-solid, showing even better on the second night after being left open — a sure sign that this is built to benefit from additional bottle age.  Sorry for the “spoiler” above, but this is an absolutely outstanding example of the breed.