This is a departure from my Malbec fascination.  Today I am tasting the Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Cabernet Sauvignon 2013.  Grown in the Casablanca Valley is located about 17 away from the coast and west from Santiago, Chile.  I will be adding this to my list of favorite wine from South America.  This Cabernet Sauvignon is bold but not over powering.  It is ideal for pastas with red sauces, marinated pork and grilled beef.

Looking at the wine in the glass you see a deep red purple color, almost like an inky red or purple used in oil paints.  This Cabernet has an intense aroma with spicy notes of rosemary, chocolate and some peppers.  The nose will also pick up the oak. A great taste from a concentration of ripened red fruit, blue berries and black currant.  Tannins are round and well developed on the mid palate. All of this provides for a great mouth feel and a long-lasting finish.

One of the special things about this wine is that it is not only organic, but may be the “greenest” wine I have tried. The winery is certified organic by a number of organizations from countries around the world including the United States and Germany as well as their home organization in Chile.  They have a biodynamic vision where the farms will become self-sufficient so that plants, soil animals and humans in a closed self-nourishing system.  They protect 700 acres of native vegetation in the vineyards and as a buffer to help ensure the biodiversity of the area. They understand that animals, birds and even insects are an important part of the eco system to ensure a healthy environment. Another important part of the environmental effort are the bottles.  Each one is 14% lighter than typical wine bottles. This reduction in weight save thousands of gallons of fuel every year and thus reduces shipping cost and saves us all money and makes a really good win even more affordable. A surprise for me, was learning that the water treatment plant for the winery is a state of the art biologic process.  This process uses plants to process waste water to irrigate the lawns and vegetable gardens around the property. The effort that Lapostolle has put into conserving energy is so impressive that it is really hard to describe.  The winery is built into the side of a hill to take advantage in savings for cool storage and to allow gravity and natural convection to help cool the building and circulate air.

This is a great wine.  It is affordable at about $18 to $20 a bottle.  This makes it great for those occasions when you need t take wine to a party or when you want something bold, but not overly so for that special meal you are preparing.