Winery review #1: Casa del Bosque

Living in wine country is fantastic. I want to start reviewing all the wineries we go to so I dont forget about which ones I liked and this way I can recommend ones to people we may know traveling to Chile.

First on the docket, Casa del Bosque.
Gosh this one is gorgeous, isnt it. I mean it truly is picturesque. This was the first one we went to. And let me tell you, the wine from this winery is still my favorite that I have had in Chile. I mean it is just that good.

 It is nestled in the Casablanca Valley and about an hour from Santiago. With the valley and the mountains all around you kind of forget you are even that close to the city. In my limited experience with Chilean wine I have found that most of the best wines come from the Casablanca valley, especially the Sauvignon Blancs. The Colchuga valley is awesome for Carmenere. Anyway, It was just a perfect morning. We did the tour and the tasting (yumm) and then had a picnic lunch provided by the restaurant while Curly girl played on the playground. The wineries all have playgrounds. Its awesome.

Breakdown:
Scenery: It is perfection
The food: eh, it was fine. Not great but fine. But we didnt really come here to eat, right? ;)
The important stuff, the wine:
Chardonnay: eh, it was chardonnay. I dont love chardonnay so I might not be a fair reviewer of this one.
Sauvignon Blanc: Sauvi B is my favorite kind of wine, hands down. And I ADORE SB from New Zealand. In my opinion it is the holy grail of SB. But back to Chile. This one from Casa del Bosque is fantastic. It is the closest to the product of New Zealand that I have found here. Oh you Kiwis are good, but this one is not far behind. It is my go to wine and I have been known to go completely out of my way to get it since it isnt sold at the grocery store close to our apartment. It is light and crisp, slightly fruity and acidic. It is everything a good SB should be. I will miss it when we move back to the States.
Carmenere: I LOVE CARMENERE. It is exquisite. And if you arent familiar with the story of Carmenere go google it. Its a cool story. This one is delicious. It is velvety and smooth. It is full, but in good way. I do not typically like a full bodied red, but this one is awesome. It isnt my favorite Carmenere that I have had since coming here but it is certainly up there.
Cabernet: I thought I liked Cabernet but then I had Carmenere. I can still appreciate a good Cab though. This one is fine, it tastes like any other good quality Cab to me. But they served it slightly chilled in the tasting and I really enjoyed that. This Cab is smooth and slightly sweet. It is light, which I appreciate in a red.
Syrah: I am not a fan of this one, but I dont like any Syrahs really. The way I feel about Syrah is the way I feel about Chardonnay: unnecessary.
They also do make a Merlot, but it wasnt on the tasting menu the day we went. If I go back and they do have it I will report back.

So that is Casa del Bosque. I cant wait to take my mom here when she visits! She is a white wine lover so this one will probably be her favorite as well.