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Armador Cabernet Sauvignon Valle del Maipo Chile 2013

This wine from Chile is made with organic grapes by Odfjell Vineyards.  The wine is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Syrah from the Maipo Valley.  The unique feature of this wine is that 80% was aged in stainless steel and 20% in older oak barrels and it was only aged four to six months.  I have lately been seeing a few Cabernet Sauvignon wines aged in stainless steel, resulting in medium bodied wines with emphasis on the fruit and little or no oak flavors.  There are still tanins
from the grape skins but the wine is much lighter, especially suited for summer sipping.

I have really enjoyed Armador.  As expected it is a lighter, fruit forward wine with rich dark fruit flavors and a small amount of licorice.  The finish is long and refreshing.  While you might not want to pair this with a ribeye steak, you would definitely enjoy this with pork chops or pasta.

I am on my fourth bottle of this wine and it is hard to rate it against bigger, bolder Cabs.  This is evidenced by the wide range of ratings that others have put on this wine.  I can only say that if I compare it to the wide category of red wines, this is an excellent, flavorful red wine and I really like it.  The wine was $9.99 at Costco.

SC Wine Joe rating = 90 points



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