Rayuela Merlot, 2010 Central Valley

Tasted 06/05/11 at home with Sara. 14% ABV, about £7.50 at Majestic (currently on offer at £5.99 if you buy two or more). A great little, fruit forward Chilean wine. Nice, every day drinking, pleasant varietal Merlot character. Youthful (2010!) deep violet colour with cherry and mixed spice on the nose, vanilla and chocolate notes in the mouth with nice plummy fruit. Soft tannins - drink young. Another demonstration of how excellent entry level Chilean wines can be - this is the entry level wine of the Viu Manent winery - new to me and exclusively imported by Majestic. (Rayuela means 'hopscotch' in Chilean Spanish vernacular, apparently). They do reserva wines under the Viu Manent label. From 2011, 15.5 / 20