Alpha Apalta Vineyard Montes Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley 2007

A juicy, flattering style, with tasty braised fig, currant and blackberry fruit liberally laced with aged tobacco and dark pepper notes. Stays nice and fleshy through the finish.

Dense and structured, with aromas of smoked meat, ripe berry fruit and a certain marshmallow-vanilla sweetness that comes straight from the barrel. The feel is big and grabby, with strong tannins framing flavors of cassis, blackberry, vanilla and chocolate. And it's quite creamy and sweet on the finish.

Dark red. Powerful scents of cherry, graphite, gingerbread and oak spice. Vibrant and nicely focused, with tangy red berry and cherry flavors supported by gentle acids and light tannins. An elegant, nicely concentrated midweight from very old vines.A good, solid beam of red currant and blackberry fruit is layered with cocoa, grilled herb and toast. Slightly firm finish from the toast, but plenty of flesh. Should fill out nicely in the near term. Drink now through 2008.

The 2007 Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon raises the bar considerably. A glass-coating opaque purple, it has an excellent bouquet of toasty oak, tobacco, espresso, and blackcurrant. With good richness, excellent depth, and a firm structure, it will evolve for several years and drink well through 2019.

Full of muscular, burly tannins, this robust cabernet tastes of cherries and pepper behind the sweet spice of oak. The fruit will come forward with a few years in bottle, or in the company of charcuterie.

Medium red. Cherry and raspberry aromas are complicated by sexy oak spices, rose and licorice. Fresh and nervy, with vivid red fruit flavors, silky texture and slow-building sweetness. The long finish leaves a strong note of vanilla behind. I suspect that this will absorb the oak with a couple of years' patience.

"Lots of berry fruits with chocolate