Errázuriz Don Maximiano 2017 (93+ WA) (93+)

“I like the austerity of the 2017 Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve—it’s more reserved than the 2016, more discrete and less aromatic, with a lot of power on the palate. 2017 is a structured vintage, and the challenge was to find elegance, freshness and balance, as the weather was warm and dry. It’s a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 8% Carmenere, 7% Petit Verdot and 6% Cabernet Franc—a classical Chilean Bordeaux blend—with notes of black fruit, cassis and blackberry, serious and with better-integrated oak. They are very careful with the use of oak, using barrels that mark the wine less, especially in warm vintages, and using fewer new barrels. The wine has structure and tannin but also has the juiciness to balance it all.”