Errazuriz Cabernet Big, Smooth with Rich Tannins

I've found a lot of really great Cabernets under the $20 price point since the middle of this year. Several are iconic names you know while others may be a little less familiar to the average wine drinker.

Earlier this year I discovered Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc at Vine & Table in Carmel, IN. I thought it was one of the best Sauv Blancs I had had in a long time. Tonight, I opened a bottle of Errazuriz Cabernet Sauvignon I bought at Vino 100 in Columbus, Ohio, and it was a really great bottle of wine.

Errazuriz was founded in the late 1800s in Chile and been a vineyard ever since. It won an award for Chilean Wine Producer of the Year in 2008 at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in England.

I had the wine with a beef filet rubbed in cherry-smoke rub and a bit of dark chocolate powder. It has a big and lucious flavor of deep cherry and spice. The tannins were well balanced and pronounced without being over-powering.

The grapes come from one of the winery's best vineyards, the Don Maximiano Estate in the Aconcagua Valley. The wine scored a 91 from Wine Enthusiast and 90 (Oops, I had a typo up originally that said 80) from Stephen Tanzer.

I found the wine available online at $17.99-$21. I paid $19-something at Vino 100.

Errazuriz is widely available. For the price, it's really dynamite Cabernet!

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com