Wine Review: Ventisquero "Grey" Glacier Garnacha Cariñena Mataro 2017

On Sunday I reviewed the Ventisquero "Grey" Glacier Carménère 2014, and today I'm reviewing the Ventisquero "Grey" Glacier Garnacha Cariñena Mataro 2017.

This is a blend of 62% Garnacha, 19% Cariñena, and 19% Mataro. You may know Garnacha as Grenache, Cariñena as Carignan, and Mataro as Mourvédre. All three are from the same Block 28 vineyard plot on a hill in La Robleria, Apalta in Colchagua Valley, Chile. They were all harvested at different times, however, because of the ripening stages of each variety. Only 50% of the grapes passed the inspection to make it into the crush, and then went into pre-fermentative maceration for 3 to 5 days in small open 400-kilo containers. After that it's fermented at a low temperature, then sees a post-fermentative maceration for 1 to 2 weeks before 100% of it goes into extra-fine fifth use French oak barrels for for 6 months, and then 1 month in the bottle. The final ABV is 14%.

The wine is purple in color. On the nose there's aromas of cherries, strawberry jelly, black olives, cinnamon, and burnt toast. The nose is freakin' awesome. In the mouth it's light to medium bodied with a slippery mouthfeel, a pep to its acidity, and sweet tannins. It's got a smokey and savory profile surrounding fruity flavors of cherries and strawberries, and spice flavors of vanilla and cinnamon. Then it finishes savory with flavors of tangy strawberries and gritty leather.

This is absolutely delicious and I couldn't recommend it more for a $20 Grenache blend. The way the savoriness of the midpalate and finish plays with the flavors really make this wine highly enjoyable, and I can't wait to try it with some cheese. With that said, it gets a perfect score in price vs. quality.

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $20

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.