The English publication released the top 18 Cabernet Sauvignon of the country after several tastings conducted throughout the year.

London, November 2020.- Patrick Schmitt MW, Editor-in-Chief of The Drinks Business, recently published an online article of the eighteen most relevant Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, selecting two Santa Rita wines among them: Casa Real Reserva Especial 2017 and Floresta Cabernet Sauvignon 2018.

“While Chile produces many great wines from grapes other than Cabernet Sauvignon, it is this single variety that is responsible for the country’s finest expressions, with such wines rightly earning global recognition”, mentioned the editor. “Furthermore, some of the country’s top expressions from the Andean foothills of the Maipo Valley are becoming staples for discerning fine wine collectors, who have been enticed by the concentrated cassis character of top-end Chilean Cabernets on release, along with their cellaring potential – the great reds of this nation now have at least a 20-year record of older vintages to prove their ability to improve with age”, he added.

And, precisely, with 95 points, Casa Real Reserva Especial 2017 is one of the finest expression of these wines: “If you love the great Cabernet Sauvignons formed in the free-draining soils of the Maipo’s Andean foothills, then Casa Real should be on your list”, says Schmitt. “Using grapes from very old vines in the Alto Jahuel sub region of the Maipo Andes, this is a dense wine with plenty of classic blackcurrant Cabernet character, along with lovely notes of cigar box and graphite, finishing with a touch of raspberry and fine, mouth-coating tannins. While this is a delicious drop now, this is proven to be a very long-lived wine that rewards cellaring”, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Floresta Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 obtained 94 points, revealing “An open youthful nose with ripe red fruit, a touch of dried mint and concentrated cassis aromas. Delicious in the mouth, with lovely intensity, structure, but also some restraint to this, with a fine dry tannin, smoky cedar wood, creamy coffee, and some nice lift, despite all the cassis fruit and sweet black cherry at its core. Fine, with time to go, this is pure, powerfully-flavoured Cabernet Sauvignon, but not sweet and heavy. Very impressive for the price”, finalizes Patrick Schmitt MW.