Casas del Bosque Casablanca Gran Reserva Syrah 2015

France once dominated the production of world class Syrah, as it did many of the world’s premium grape varieties, but today world class Syrah now flows from Chile and elsewhere, but few can match Casas del Bosque’s 2015 Gran Reserva Syrah from Casablanca for quality and value. Imbued with a vivid purple color, deep juicy blackberry and cassis flavors, and delightful hints of smoke, spice and violet, the 2015 Casas del Bosque Gran Reserva Syrah positively sings from the glass. Powerful, sappy, yet wonderfully smooth with ripe, well-integrated tannins, this award-winning Syrah provides superb drinking pleasure now and should continue to improve in bottle for several years. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest allowing the 2015 Casas del Bosque Gran Reserva Syrah 20-30 minutes of aeration in a decanter before serving at cool room temperature (60°-64° F). Enjoy!

In Chile, prime cuts of beef, lamb and pork are the preferred accompaniments to the finest Syrah wines, which include the 2015 Casas del Bosque Casablanca Gran Reserva Syrah, as they are in neighboring Argentina. Prime rib of beef au jus with organic Red Bliss potatoes and roasted green beans, herb encrusted beef tenderloin served over twice fried pommes frites, and wild boar served over tagliatelle pasta with sautéed vegetables provide delicious accompaniments to the 2015 Casas del Bosque Gran Reserva Syrah. Wood-fired rotisserie chicken with rosemary and garlic and lasagna prepared with spicy Italian sausage and homemade meatballs provide more tempting accompaniments. For a tasty meatless pairing, consider a crispy zucchini cake topped with spicy Turkish salad, tzatziki, and crumbled Feta over quinoa as companionship to Casas del Bosque’s super premium 2015 Gran Reserva Syrah. Enjoy!

Yes, you read it right! This month’s Premier Series selection was named Best of Show for 2017 at the annual Wines of Chile Awards from among 380 wines from 80 different wineries. According to media sources “Wines of Chile Awards announces their national awards based on the evaluation of 27 prominent American judges. In the first stage, two days of blind tastings of 380 wines from 82 wineries were sampled blind. A total of 82 Gold Medals were awarded. Those Gold Medalists were further judged to choose a Trophy winner in 13 categories. The final cut was to choose two Best of Show Trophies.” The 2015 Casas del Bosque Gran Reserva Syrah was one of those two wines. Interestingly, Casas del Bosque took home the other award as well for their estate Late Harvest Riesling. Given the track record of this exemplary estate over the past half dozen years, can anyone be surprised as Casas del Bosque continuously pushes the envelope on quality through excellent vineyard management, site selection and meticulous attention in the cellar?

Casas del Bosque sprang to life in 1993 as a family boutique winery dedicated exclusively to the production of high quality wines. And by all accounts this boutique operation is ably fulfilling its mission, as the recent spate of 90+ point ratings from world renowned critics will attest. Casas del Bosque is located just 40 miles from Chile’s capital of Santiago and a mere 18 miles from Chile’s principal port of Valparaiso. This boutique operation cultivates its own vineyards in the nearby Casablanca Valley, the preferred place for premium white wine production. They also have significant vineyard holdings in the premier red wine producing valleys of Maipo and Rapel south of Santiago, areas noted for fashioning exceptional Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon. Casas del Bosque’s meticulous attention to vineyard management and careful site and varietal selection guarantee superior fruit for the winery’s portfolio of high quality wines. Such care has also earned Casas del Bosque the distinction of Chilean Winery of the Year at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London for two years in a row (2013 and 2014).

Presently, Casas del Bosque has approximately 500 acres of vines under cultivation, which are spread throughout Chile’s best viticultural valleys and microclimates. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling hail from the winery’s superb Casablanca holdings and form the backbone of the estate’s white wine portfolio. Exceptional Pinot Noir and Syrah are also cultivated by Casas del Bosque in Casablanca. Casas del Bosque’s exceptional ultra-premium Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon red wines emanate from the warmer Rapel and Maipo valleys. The winery’s Gran Reserva and Pequeñas Producciones (very limited productions) of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Syrah are Casas del Bosque’s ultimate luxury offerings.