2010 KAI Carmenere

The 2010 Kai is the purest Carmenere to date (96%) and the first to employ 90% new oak instead of 100%. It has ripe vanilla-y oak on the nose, but good delineation with layers of primal plum and cassis fruit. The palate is sweet and grippy on the entry with powerful black fruit laced with dark chocolate and a touch of mint. There is good weight and greater symmetry than the 2009. The finish has fine tension: reserved and masculine. Excellent. Drink now-2018. It was a pleasure to spend two or three hours in the company of Eduardo Chadwick at his estate and undertake verticals of his wines. Few have done more to promote Chilean wine than him, most notably with his blind comparisons with First Growth to demonstrate that Sena stands shoulder to shoulder with Old World icons. As you might guess, we had a long debate about that! But also, we engaged in a long discussion about viticulture and the philosophy behind his portfolio. Readers may remark on my relatively mean scores. I thought long and hard about this. But I firmly feel that recent vintages from Errazuriz completely outshine the older ones and speaking at length with winemaker Francisco Baettig, there is a sense of a winery changing tack and in my opinion, what this estate will produce in the next twenty years will completely surpass the previous twenty years. Importer: Vintus Wines, Pleasantville, NY; www.vintuswines.com

Vibrant dark purple. Heady, opulent nose. Some lift, savour, dryness and sophistication. Much more grown-up than the 2009. But the green streak insists on the finish. Tannin and acidity still. Good ingredients. May well improve considerably. (JR)