Chile Uncorked: 2010 Emilana Novas Gran Reserva Pinot Noir

Welcome to Throwback Thursday, here's 'vintage' post from 2012, back when I use to participate in the Wines of Chile tasting, I've somehow fallen off the invite list, or they've moved on with other marketing efforts. But be that as it may, this wine review is an excellent example of what honest straight forward, not pandering for samples reporting looks like, does anyone remember those days? I'm afraid that ship has sailed, we are now mostly, by in large left with a gif featuring the perfectly dreadful Stephen Colbert, who is reported to have once said, "how does one spell pander?" he would know. 

At least when I tweet on behalf of a 'client,' I add the hashtag #promoted or #sponsored that way, there's zero confusion about any appearance of impropriety. #fulldisclosure #winebiz feel me?

"Compromises are for relationships, not wine." --- Sir Robert Scott Caywood

Well, here we are, it's almost time for the weekend, it's now just hours away. You can feel it, see it, and sense the vibe in the air. In the fact that the boss-man has lost control and the possibilities are endless for what you will do this weekend. If you're lucky enough [from a weather-related point-of-view] to live here in Oregon, as I do now,  then you know this weekend is going to be superb [epic] for whatever outdoor activity you decide to embark upon.

With that in mind, the chances are excellent, that if you're reading these words that you'll be slurping down some juice this weekend, some looking for the serious and some just looking for the reasonably quaff-able wine of the moment. But whatever it's you are looking for in the wine world, I hope you enjoy it entirely, but please don't do the same old song and dance, explore something new and just say 'NO' to mass-produced juice [aka, commodity wines].

The 2010 Emiliana Novas Pinot Noir is another wine [sample] I encountered during the Wines of Chile Blogger tasting, which did not come dressed to impress initially. I confess I chilled it a bit as requested, unsealed the screw cap and poured a 3-ounce pour about an hour before the 'live' tasting commenced. I'm not sure if this wine just didn't travel well or what the problem with it was, but it did NOT show well that evening.

Although several other 'bloggers' were going gah-gah over it. It was dirty, murky and had some funky stewed aromas, which did not blow off that evening, aromas which made its dirty-shod feet on its way to the wines overall flavor profile."

Now that said, I didn't pour the wine down the drain, like I know many other writers do. I took a different tact; instead, I re-capped it and tucked it back into my cellar for a few days. Having just made a fantastic whole roasted barbecue chicken [great pairing partner] and then seeing the poor little bottle of Emiliana looking back at me, I decided to give this wine another go. I mean why not, it's already open, what the heck and I believe in second chances.

So again I poured another 3-ounce pour in the glass you see in the picture above and wow, bang-bang this wine came out of its corner like Rocky against Apollo Creed. I was hit with boat-loads of baking spices, cranberry, ripe strawberry, rich wet-earth, wrapped around polished well-integrated tannins, making for some nice QPR on a Pinot Noir with an SRP of $19.

But the fact that this wine took three days to get its proverbial act together, that is really disappointing. Honestly, folks, this wine did NOT show well that evening on any level, and no I'm not exaggerating one bit. Even Mrs. Cuvee gave it a thumbs-down, she is nowhere near the snobby-grader that I can be at times. The Caveat: Perhaps, I didn't have the best bottle, or perhaps I'm the only one whose wine was sick with bottle shock or is there another explanation, I confess to not knowing the answer.

"Writers about #wine should, at least on occasion, be troublesome, irritating, and critical.” ~ Andrew Jefford 

Even though this wine did make a remarkable turn-around, I still can't give it a good recommendation, my score on this wine is 86 points at best. Frankly, folks, there is far more accessible game to hunt, than this elusive Pinot Noir from Chile, which may ultimately disappoint the thirsty vino-sapiens. The reviews of the wines I liked from this tasting are coming up next, so please stay tuned and remember folks until next time sip long and prosper cheers!