REVIEW: 2012 Miguel Torres Santa Digna Reserva Carmenere

All of us who love big and bold reds often tend to gravitate towards Cabernet Sauvignon and not much else. Well, in case you might be in the mood to try something a little outside of your comfort zone, there is at least one wine for you: the 2012 Miguel Torres Santa Digna Reserva Carmenere. At around $15 per bottle, you really don’t have any excuse not to at least give it a try. After you do that, and find that you enjoy it, stock up on six bottles or even a full 12-bottle case. It has the potential to keep another two to three years at the most. By stocking up, you’ll have this affordable and enjoyable wine on hand any time you want it.

The Torres Name

The Torres family has been in the wine business since 1870. Though they had a relatively small beginning, they are known today as one of more renowned empires of wine in Spain and the Americas. The family’s mark in wine business started with Jaime Torres’ emigration to Cuba in 1855. It was during his stay on the island that he had created his wealth in the oil industry. In 1870, he returned home a rich man and got into business with his brother Miguel, who at the time was a wine grower.

Jaime and Miguel began the family business in Vilafranca just opposite the railway station in the region of Penedes, Spain in 1870. They were ambitious and had big ideas. One of Jaime’s ideas involved the crafting of what would be the largest wine vat in the world to hold up to 600,000 liters of wine. The grand idea was carried out and the vat constructed. It was inside the vat that a historic lunch would take place on April 17th with King Alfonso XIII.

A few years later, the family faced the untimely death of Jaime Torres, who had no heirs. Instead, Jaime left his companies divided among his brothers and nephews, but it was his winery that he left to Miguel.

Challenging situations continued to plague the Torres family, as did with many other wineries in Europe during the early 1900s. Their winery had been bombed in the Spanish Civil War, leaving nothing behind, not even the grand vat. It was not until 1940 when a member of the fourth generation of the Torres family decided to rebuild. Not only did he rebuild, but he stopped the sale of their wines in bulk and began to market their wines in rightly labelled bottles. But the reconstruction of the winery was during an inconvenient time. Much of Europe was under Hitler’s control, including France, and it was virtually impossible to provide wine to the public to make a living. To keep things going, Miguel set off to market to the United States with his new labels of Vina Sol, Sangre de Toro and Coronas.

His vision of supporting the family winery by selling to the US paid off and eventually another family member set off across the ocean to properly set up shop. Miramar Torres arrived in California in 1975 and searched for two years to find that perfect spot for a vineyard, eventually settling in the Russian River Valley. In 1986, she began planting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines. Today, this winery is known as Miramar Estate.

The family’s influence in Chile started in 1979 with the Vina Santa Digna vineyards in the wine region of Curico. Today, the family grows 160 hectares worth of Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and the iconic Chilean red grape, Carmenere.

Today, the Torres family is known all over the world for their acclaimed wines. They even have collectors’ labels, such as the Milmanda Chardonnay, the Torres Grans Muralles red blend of Conca de Barbera in Spain, or the classic Torres Sangre de Toro from Catalunya. While these might only meet the price point for a serious wine lover and collector, Torres has made a place in the market for anyone to enjoy their wines. The winery of Santa Digna has plenty of labels to try out that are more than affordable, such as our wine for the week: the 2012 Miguel Torres Santa Digna Reserva Carmenere.

The 2012 Miguel Torres Santa Digna Reserva Carmenere

The blend is predominantly Carmenere with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, which should woo any of you out there who love big red wines. The wine is easy to drink, incredibly balanced from the front of your palate all the way to the finish. The finish is rich with fine tannins that add structure to the tart cherry, hearty spicy plum and dried tobacco notes. It is a wine easily enjoyed on its own when you need that comforting glass to wind down after a long day or pair with a good steak or even a burger on a weeknight.