Wine Sampling Club - September 2010

It’s funny how we can overlook things once they have become a regular feature. To tie in with our September Chilean promotion, and because it thoroughly deserves it, we are revisiting an old favourite pair which hasn’t had a Sampling Club airing for several vintages. Although you might have tried them in the past or breezed over them on the shelves, it is entire probable that you have not tasted the current incarnations. These are the Calbuco blends from Chile’s Central Valley, the strip of land between the Pacific and the Andes. Calbuco is a volcano over 6500 feet high amongst the Andes and clearly visible from the vineyards to which it lends its name.

The red is a classic Cabernet/Merlot combination with that instantly agreeable, oak-free, juicy quality with which Chilean conditions imbue the fruit so readily. This makes it a terrific all-rounder to enjoy with a wide variety of food: roasts, grills, pies, cheese and veggie recipes - it really is a most accommodating red. The white puts Sémillon with Chardonnay which works particularly well and, in the fresh Central microclimate, develops delightful, aromatic aromas. It is crisp enough for fish, flavoursome enough for white meats and sufficiently rounded to enjoy as a glass on its own. It has not been given any wood at all and the lightly tropical fruit flavours are clean and clear.

RED: 2008 Calbuco Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, Central Valley, Chile

Price per bottle: £6.75, Case price £6.41, Half price for one sample £3.38

Cabernet’s ripe black fruit merges seamlessly with Merlot’s rich plum character for
a fully flavoured, sd

WHITE: 2009 Calbuco Sémillon/Chardonnay, Central Valley, Chile

Price per bottle: £6.75, Case price £6.41, Half price for one sample £3.37

Sémillon is the dominant contributor with its citrus freshness, while Chardonnay compliments it with depth and a note of refinement. Dry and oak-free.

SEPTEMBER OFFERS

THE SUMMER ROSE OFFER IS STILL UP AND RUNNING WITH READY MIXED PACKS…

These offers will carry on into September for as long as you lot keep buying them!

Watch out for details of this month’s Chilean promo. t’s an opportunity to try some of our better Chilean wines at reduced prices, with some new lines and all of cracking quality.

…AS IS THE EVERYDAY & WEEKEND OFFER, NOW AVAILABLE IN ALL ITS VARIETIES.

In October we will be emailing a £5 voucher to everyone who subscribes to our email list. If you would like to register please visit our website and complete the sign-up form in the top righthand corner of the homepage. Click “subscribe” and you will be sent a link to click to complete your registration. This is a double opt-in process to comply with anti-spam regulations.

DIARY DATE: We are already taking enquiries for the Pre-Christmas Tasting so put
Thursday November 18th in your diary NOW. It’s at ITFC as usual and full details will come round in due course, BUT RESERVE THE DATE RIGHT NOW!