Domus Aurea, Upper Maipo Valley (Chile) Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

 This 2019 release is a wonderful rendition of Domus Aurea, one that shows some noble restraint in terms of the eucalyptus and cedar characters that always mark the wine, and yet not so much restraint that the wine doesn’t remain true to its remarkable growing site, which ultimately powers right through all efforts at restraint.  That might seem like a self-contradictory sentence, but it isn’t — as I’d guess experienced admirers of this great wine will agree when they taste this vintage.  The wine’s core of fruit is vivid and strikingly pure, showing more black notes than red ones but some of each, with superb depth of flavor and very, very impressive length.  However, the exotic “accents” are just as prominent in the wine’s overall impression as that fruit “core,” as the minty, spicy, salty mineral notes are all present in force from the first whiff through the last note in the finish, which is phenomenally persistent.  What this wine presents that the Alba de Domus can’t quite match — despite its obvious excellence — is a degree of precision in its proportionality that lets all of its (seemingly countless) aroma and flavor elements work together in an even more impressive harmony, all showing themselves without over-riding any of the others.  Chile’s other ultra-premium Cabernets and Bordeaux-style blends are all deserving of the prices they command and the praise they garner, but none of them are as emphatically and proudly Chilean as this one.  Don Melchior, VIK, Chadwick, Seña, Almaviva — all fabulous without a doubt, and every one of them more “international” in style (and probably better bets for those who wish to impress important clients when celebrating some deal-signing in a steakhouse without taking a chance on a wine that might raise eyebrows or rub somebody at the table the wrong way).  But for sheer distinctiveness and excitement value, none of them can touch this wine.