Aquitania Valle del Maipo Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Aquitania’s 2016 Reserva Valle del Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon truly pays homage to Bordeaux with its bright ruby red color, elegant nose, and smooth palate-pleasing flavors. Awarded 91 points from Vinous and 90+ from Wine Advocate, it boasts soft scents of red currant and cassis which waft from the glass. In the mouth, round and friendly tannins carry the wine’s berry flavors, cedar tones, and hints of toasted oak to a balanced, genial finish. With no harsh, mouth-searing tannins to chew through, the 2016 Aquitania Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon makes an ideal companion for current drinking. However, much like the finest Cabernet-based wines of Bordeaux, we suggest affording this delightful Aquitania Cabernet Sauvignon at least 20-30 minutes of aeration before consuming at 58°-62° F. Enjoy!

Although fine Cabernet-based wines offer plenty of flavor and sophistication, they show better in the company of simple, well-prepared dishes than with heavy, spicy foods. Consequently, we suggest pairing the elegant 2016 Aquitania Valle del Maipo Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon with a perfectly roasted rotisserie chicken, duck confit, or tender veal chop grilled slowly to perfection and topped with a light mushroom sauce or blackberry reduction. For the more adventuresome, why not try complementing this sophisticated Bordeaux-style Cabernet with a classic French dish, Chicken Barigoule – a rotisserie roasted chicken breast with braised artichokes, garlic, pearl onions, carrots, asparagus, and tomatoes? It provides a simple but elegant meal that showcases the finesse and subtlety of the medium-bodied 2016 Aquitania Reserva. On a simpler note, hangar steak or even a juicy cheeseburger makes a fine accompaniment to this Cabernet Sauvignon. And, finishing a meal with a glass of the 2016 Aquitania Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon in the company of fine Edam, Port Salut, or similar styled soft cheese provides a superb way to end an evening. Bon Appétit, or should we say Buen Provecho!

Aquitania is the first truly boutique Chilean winery. Founded by Bordeaux luminaries Bruno Prats of Château Cos d’Estournel, the late Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux, and Chilean agronomist, oenologist and master winemaker Felipe de Solminihac in the early 1990s, Aquitania specializes in producing the highest caliber Cabernet Sauvignon from high altitude vineyards in Chile’s famed Maipo region. Aquitania comprises 45 prime acres in the historic heart of the Maipo Valley known as Quebrada de Macul. In 2003, Ghislain de Montgolfier of the legendary Bollinger Champagne house joined with Pratts, Pontallier and de Solminihac as a full partner in Aquitania.

The name Aquitania pays homage to the partners’ roots and the wines they fashion. Aquitania (Aquitaine) is the original name given to the Bordeaux region of France and its inhabitants at the time of Caesar’s conquest of Gaul. Aquitania (aka Bordeaux) is also the spiritual home of Cabernet Sauvignon, the world’s most revered red grape variety. Aquitania produces two exceptional wines, Valle del Maipo Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon (this month’s feature) and Lazuli, the estate’s super luxury Cabernet Sauvignon, which is produced sporadically only in exceptional vintages.