Years ago, when Concha Y Toro first came out with their Casillero del Diablo brand of wines, we thought they were revelational. Trying to gain market share, they were priced at absurd levels. We used to pay $5 for a bottle of the Carmenere, which was an excellent wine and worth 2-3 times that price. We bought it by the case. Eventually we expanded across a wider wine world and really haven’t kept up with the brand, but here we’ll take a look at a more recent example.
Wine: 2021 Concha Y Toro Casillero del Diablo Carmenere Reserva
Winery Location: Central Valley, Chile
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: August 2023
Tasting Notes: the color is a medium dark ruby red. Out of the glass you get plum and currant, along with a touch of smoke and some oak. It is just full bodied on the palate, with medium tannins. The fruit holds nicely through the mid-palate and the wine has good balance and length. It lacks just a little bit in body and depth, otherwise it would be a pretty exceptional value. As it stands it is a good value and a solid wine.
Price Point – around $12
Would We Buy It? – Maybe. This is good, but not exceptional. We’ll try some of the other varietals from the line and see how they fare, as well as other vintages. This has been a consistently good range of wines over the years.
The Casillero del Diablo line from Concha Y Toro is generally a consistent value. It’s worth trying. There are 11 other varietals in this particular line, and three other labels within the Casillero del Diablo family. There really is something for everyone.
A votre santé!
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