2005 Caro

The 2005 Caro is an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec aged for 18 months in French oak (80% new). The palate is medium-bodied with quite dense, tensile tannins supporting the intense blackberry, cassis fruit laced with white pepper and spice. It is still backward but supremely well-focused on the tightly wound finish. Excellent. Drink 2015-2025. For those who can no longer accompany every dinner with a bottle of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, there is always this Argentinean estate, Bodegas Caro, which offers high quality wines at far more affordable prices. Debuting with the 1999/2000 harvest, the bodega farms their own vineyards and supplements them from out-sourced fruit. Tasted both in the UK and in Argentina, I admired the fact that there is an inescapable, tangible Old World tincture to these wines that lends them personality and breeding, perhaps a welcome antidote to the more hedonistic wines that flourish. Importer: Pasternak Wine Imports, Harrison, NY; tel. (914) 630-8200