These are short notes from the tasting of 5 vintages of Torres' premier Chile Cabernet - Manso de Velasco, sponsored by the International Wine and Food Society and the importers of Torres wines in the Philippines. The event was once again held at Cafe Ysabel.
Manso de Velasco 1996 - Already fading to brick, the nose initially shows roasted meat aromas although prolonged airing brings out some caramel nuances. Plenty of sweet fruit and a strong tannic backbone. The finish dries out and seems slightly metallic. There is plenty of life left in this wine. Very good.
Manso de Velasco 1997 - Slightly hot with some overripe fruit character. Much darker than the '96 but a much lighter wine. It's a cliche but this does have a hole in the mid-palate. Decent length but definitely a letdown after the '96.
Manso de Velasco 1998 - Very dark, youthful. Lots of ripe berry in the nose. Smooth, stylish, silky wine. There is a pronounced acidity which seemed to be jarring to some but which I thought gave it good complexity and structure. Tobacco, plum and fig. Long and tannic on the finish. makes good drinking now but will last a long time. Very good.
Manso de Velasco 2001 - Oddly lighter than the '98. A bit too much alcohol. Very young, spicy wine with some espresso character. Roast meat as well. Has a great deal of sweet, ripe fruit. Tannic. Good length. Needs plenty of time to come around. Very good.
Manso de Velasco 2003 - Has a mouth-coating syrupy character but is not as fruity-sweet as the other wines. Full but not heavy. Very classy. Easy to drink. Gives the impression of great potential. Seemed closed. Classy wine with a long, dryish finish. Despite the wine being very young and closed, this was my favorite wine of the night.
After the '03 I thought the '01, '98 and '96 were very close together quality wise. If forced to rank, I would say '98, '01, '96. It was quite obvious that the '97 was not in the same league as the other wines.
Common to all the wines ripe fruit sweetness but definitely not a cloying, tiring flavor or mouthfeel. I thought it made the wines very friendly. The wines all seem to have the structure to age very well as demonstrated by the '96.
A very good tasting accompanied by an unbelievably rich dinner of vegetable soup, canelones, rabo de toro (oxtail stew) and a magnificent Tarta Madrid accompanied by an excellent 20 year old Torres Hors d'Age Brandy. Hopefully, after this tasting and the Mas La Plana tasting last month, we can persuade the importers to woek on a Grans Muralles tasting.