2007 Odfjell Carménère Armador
I've been tasting a lot of Carménère's lately, partly in thanks to Wines of Chile. I like the varietal, with its smokey and peppery notes, but I don't think it's for everyone. The Odfjell is the first one that I think is truly accessible to a large group of wine drinkers. Easily the most balanced and easy drinking of the dozen or so I've tried, this one is 100% Carménère, with blackberry, plum, tobacco, smoke and white pepper. Remarkably nice acidity, allowing the wine to slice directly through the palate, but balanced with a nice, long finish and a quick, broad mouth feel. What you should do: BUY IT! This varietal is worth a try and, without a doubt, this is the one to experiment with.
My rating: 89
2007 Townshend Malbec
This wine was brought to my attention by my father-in-law. He is a Malbec loyalist and responsible for me exploring the Malbec varietal by introducing
me to a great Terra Blanca Malbec a few years back. The Townshend is a nice fruit -forward Malbec, with dark cherry, fig and white pepper on the nose. Remarkably well balanced and full palate, especially for a wine this young. It's big and broad on the palate and then narrows into a lasting finish. All in all, this is a fantastic Malbec from Washington.What you should do: Buy it, if you can find it. The winery does have plenty of the 2007 on hand, in the mid-$20's, so you can get it there, but I wasn't able to find it anywhere else. This may be a case wine for me - would love to have some bottles around the house.
My rating: 88
NOTE: The Odfjell was provided to me as a free sample.
Gadget
Great to read that our wine is accessible - acidity is key.
Laurence Odfjell
nice to hear from you laurence - really enjoyed the wine. will definitely be keeping track of future releases.
cheers!