Quebrada de Macul, Maipo Valley (Chile) Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

 This extraordinary, characterful wine is technically the “Second Wine” of Domus Aurea, which is among my five favorite wines from Chile, and thereby among my favorite wines from anywhere.  A caveat is in order immediately, as this definitely doesn’t taste like a “Second Wine,” and if its particular character appeals to you, you’ll have trouble believing that it has a higher-ranked stablemate.  Another caveat is next in order regarding the wine’s “particular character,” as you’d need to enjoy aromatic notes of eucalyptus or mint to appreciate this, which perhaps you do, based on some other Cabernets from Chile’s Maipo Valley, or various locations in Australia, or some of the Joseph Phelps “Insignia” blends or Backus Vineyard Cabernets from the late 1980’s and early 1990s.  Speaking first for myself, I definitely love wines in this style, and so too does my wife, who is a big-shot food journalist who can always identify wines from this vineyard within the city limits of Santiago sight-unseen, just by dint of me waving a glass under her nose.  If this seems like an in-bred household opinion, I’d also note that WRO contributor Paul Lukacs also adores wines in this style, though he and I learned in our former restaurant consulting business that—not everyone shares our opinion.  To that, I reply:  Fine, enjoy your Cabernet that tastes like it could come from anywhere, leaving more for me of this and the Domus Aurea, which are among the most site-specific Cabernet wines in the world.  Medium-plus in body, with notable but soft tannins and already-integrated oak that really lets this express its growing site at this stage in its development, the wine is intensely expressive in aroma and nearly as assertive in flavor, with eucalyptus notes in the lead but followed by suggestions of dried herbs, cedar, ripe fruit with both red and black tones, and spicy undertones.  Still fresh with primary fruit notes but already showing tertiary characters from bottle bouquet, this is almost unbelievably complex for a current release wine, though most Cabs from Chile from the 2015 vintage were released years ago.  And while you’re at it, raise your sights and look for Domus Aurea.  I’ve loved that flagship wine for years, and yet, in my hotel room after tasting at the winery for the first time during August of 2019, I went online and purchased every bottle of the 2014 Domus Aurea that I could find at a reasonable price in the USA.