Santa Rita, 120 Hero’s Salute Red Blend 2012, Central Valley, Chile

Tasting Note: Some red blends are delicate. This red blend is not – it’s defiant.

Red blends are where winemakers get the freedom to experiment and show off new creations before marketing catches up with the reality of a new discovery. In the case of picking a red blend from Chile known for its quality wine production, you have nothing to fear in taking a chance – especially for bottles made for export.

This wine has an identifiable “Chilean-red-wine taste” – a-hard-to-describe quality that after tasting several Chilean reds you eventually “get” the same way you “get” a French-wine taste. This red blend also has a tannic flavor with black fruit and tobacco hints in the lead. Complex? Mildly so. It’s certainly not one-dimensional.

For an inexpensive Chilean wine built on the back of cabernet franc, there is more here than you’d expect at the price point. I’ll buy another bottle.

Bottle Note: According to legend, 120 patriots exhausted after a long, hard battle during the fight for Chile’s independence, reached the lands belonging to Santa Rita. On that fateful night in 1814 these forces of liberty found refuge in the estate cellars. Today, within there same cellars, our award-winning 120 wines are crafted to honor their heroic character.

Our 120 Hero’s Salute Red Blend, a select blend of three grape varieties, is deep ruby red with violet hues originating from the Carmenere grapes. Rich red and black fruit aromas are beautifully balanced with wood notes given by the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet France. On the palate, the wine is medium bodied with soft tannins and a long finish.

65% Cabernet Franc, 25% Carmenere, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon