First up for Cabernet Sauvignon week is a value priced offering from Chile. Over the years I've had good luck in finding 
some terrific values for my money with wines coming from South America. And Maipo Valley, where this selection hails from, has been a specific source of some of my favorite Chilean finds over time. In general I have often been able to find Chilean wines with a great earthiness to them, which is appealing to me.
The 2005 Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in a combination of American oak and stainless steal vats for 8 months. This one is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose features mostly black fruit characteristics along with subtler anise and a bit of clove. The first sip out of the bottle was tart and tight. The mid-palate has some dust and earth on it along with dark berry and soft tannins. Even after breathing the finish showed some tartness along with a few white pepper notes. That finish however is well below average in length. After the bottle is open for an hour or so and the initial tartness dissipates as do most of the other limited flavor notes this wine features. In fact, what little fruit it has seems to disappear rather quickly and be replaced by an unfortunate vegetal quality that isn't appealing.
Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Resevra has a retail price in the neighborhood of $12. If you look around though you can find it for about $9. Unfortunately with all the values coming out of Chile it's very easy for me to say that this wine simply isn't worth your money. Way too many South American producers are providing more bang for the buck in this category. This particular wine is one to avoid.
Coming tomorrow a review of a Guenoc Lake County California Cabernet Sauvignon
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