|
Casillero del Diablo
By Andrew B. Campbell
Looking for some great festive wines to serve at your Halloween
party? Look no further than to Chile’s Concha Y Toro’s Casillero del
Diablo line of wines.
First and foremost, the wines taste fantastic. We recommend two
of them in particular:
Concha Y Toro Casillero del Diablo Carmenère 2003 (Chile) $10
Carmenère, a grape originated in Bordeaux, once competed with
cabernet sauvignon as that region’s supreme grape. Because of its
susceptibility of phylloxera, a parasite that feeds on grape roots,
Carmenère had been mostly “extinct” from the wine world. It is a
grape that has resurfaced in the country of Chile in the 1990’s. The
look of the grape is very similar to merlot, and until the previous
decade, was thought to be merlot. This is why I think most
inexpensive Chilean merlots taste like green peppers, they are
probably Carmenère that was harvested early and hadn’t fully
ripened. Like cabernet sauvignon, Carmenère is one of the last
grapes to be harvested to give the grape time to ripen. Merlot is
one of the first harvested. Anyway, this is definitely not your
green pepper wine. It has ripe lush fruit, a hint of leather and
spice, and a smooth finish. It would be a perfect match to ripe
cheese or any hors d'oeuvers that are appropriate for Halloween.
Concha Y Toro Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay 2003 (Chile)
$10
This is one of Chile’s best value chardonnays in the market today!
Plump and creamy, this is like drinking apple pie! I mean, it has
baked apple flavors, nice spice and a glossy finish full of vanilla
cream.
These wines have a legend that started over 100 years ago that
lives on today. The legend goes as this: Over 100 years ago, Concha
Y Toro’s founder, Don Melchor, discovered his vineyard workers
“borrowing” his aging wine he set aside for himself from his best
vineyards. He knew his workers were very superstitious, so he told
them the cellar to which the wine came from was the “Casillero del
Diablo”, the Cellar of the Devil, or where the Devil lived. He
hasn’t had a problem of theft of his best wines since…
Cheers! |
|
