Viña Maquis, Colchagua Valley (Chile) Cabernet Franc 2019

 Chile can make fabulous Cabernet Franc, and that’s not hyperbole but rather something I can explain very precisely, if not exactly concisely:  The sunny conditions of the strip between the coastal mountain range along the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains enable full ripening of this variety, which can be green or “weedy” or vegetal in cooler years in cooler, less sunny areas.  And yet, thanks to a combination of cooling breezes off the Pacific and a winegrowing culture in Chile that isn’t afraid of herbal aromas in red Bordeaux varieties, the country can still hit the sweet spot in which Cabernet Franc tastes like, well, Cabernet Franc.  (That sounds circular, I admit, but it isn’t:  Argentina can’t achieve the same result at the same latitude, where Cabernet Franc smells and tastes like Cabernet Sauvignon from elsewhere; only Uruguay and Virginia can routinely hit this same sweet spot in the Western Hemisphere, at least for the moment.)  Viña Maquis is Chile’s premier producer of Cabernet Franc, and actually produces a super-premium, $90 per bottle wine called “Franco” above the level of the wine reviewed here, but you can truly get the idea from this wine, which is very nearly only one-quarter the price of the “Franco.”  It shows medium-plus body, pleasantly herbal and varietally-correct aromas, flavors recalling ripe blackberries and black currents, just a little whiff and flavor suggestion of oak, and very fine tannins that are beautifully measured against the wine’s fruit density.  This can stand up to a steak, but won’t beat up a pork chop.  Terrific value.