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Viña Tarapacá Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
RedChile2016
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-11-13 · Published 2026-09-07 · Updated 2026-09-07
At a glance
In one line
3.5/5 — lower than Vivino's 3.9 average · world avg price US$15 · An old Maipo name, in business since 1874.
James Suckling 93 (2016) · 92 (2015) · 91 (2014) · critic review listed on Vivino 87 (Oct 2018)
Market note: A high-volume export label from the VSPT group, so it is easy to find almost anywhere in the world. Vintage variation is small (Vivino 3.8–4.0 across 2013–2023). In the US it also circulates under the black 'Etiqueta Negra' label.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Good.”
What I learned today: the same word weighs differently depending on how many times the glass was filled.
Tuesday, the winter solstice. The longest night of the year. It was only the end of the workday, but the sky was already the middle of the night. When I got to the bar, Master Seo was lighting a small candle at the window seat. "It stays dark late tonight."
A quiet evening with few customers. Master Seo poured me a glass of red. Blackberry, plum, cherry. Leather and pepper. And very far off, a single violet.
When the violet brushed past, I saw Father's hand on the table. My nose can find that day's table from a single flower. Late autumn when I was twenty-one, a Wednesday evening with cold rain drumming on the window. On that night of endlessly changing bottles, there was one time Father didn't move on to the next bottle and picked up the same one again. He poured a second glass and said nothing. I said that glass smelled of flowers. Father turned his head toward the window and the sound of rain. I don't know the bottle's name.
I opened the notebook. "Good." Three and a half stars. That night Father wrote this one word for three bottles. The same "good," but in my memory this is the only bottle he poured twice. The bottle was Tarapacá Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon. I stuck a wine-name Post-it into the notebook. Maybe Father's "good" came in several sizes.
After closing, when the candle by the window had almost burned down, I wrote Master Seo's assignment at the bottom of the notebook page. Then I filled in the first line: "The good he poured twice." The other two lines are still empty. Good thing the night is long. What I learned today: the same word weighs differently depending on how many times the glass was filled.
What this wine is
Viña Tarapacá is one of Chile's oldest wineries, founded in 1874 by Francisco de Rojas in Isla de Maipo, south of Santiago. Two years later, in 1876, it took a silver medal at the Philadelphia World's Fair. The name, as the story goes, came during a change of ownership in the 1920s, borrowed from the nickname of two-time Chilean president Arturo Alessandri — 'El León de Tarapacá', the Lion of Tarapacá. Since 2008 it has belonged to VSPT (Viña San Pedro Tarapacá), Chile's second-largest wine exporter.
The vineyards sit on the El Rosario estate, wrapped in a bend of the Maipo River between the Andes and the Coastal Range. Cold air rolling down from the mountains and the river's own microclimate give hot days and cool nights, so the Cabernet Sauvignon ripens slowly. In the Tarapacá range, Gran Reserva is the middle tier — above the basic varietal and Reserva, below Gran Reserva Etiqueta Azul (Blue Label) — and it is the winery's best-selling bottle.
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah according to the producer's notes (Vivino lists it as 100% Cabernet). It spent about 12 months in French oak and comes in at 13.5–14% alcohol. The producer describes it as "cherry, raspberry, plum, blackberry and blackcurrant, with caramel, toffee and vanilla from the oak, and ripe, rounded tannins."
What the world says
James Suckling gave the 2016 93 points, calling it "a dense, rich Cabernet that leans toward a Rhône style — earthy, with herbs, tobacco and spice." The 2015 got 92 and the 2014 got 91; Suckling consistently places this label in the low-to-mid 90s. The other critic review listed on Vivino is 87 points (Oct 2018).
The Vivino community averages 3.9 across 9,101 ratings. Seventy percent of those are 4 stars or higher — a far higher satisfaction rate than similarly priced Mouton Cadet (41%) or Villa Antinori (62%). The keywords run oak, tobacco and vanilla; blackberry, plum and blackcurrant; leather and smoke; then pepper — with a minority mentioning bell pepper (18 times) and violet (32 times). Structurally it reads intensity 4.1/5, which is quite big, with acidity 3.0 and tannin 3.2. In other words, the archetypal 'dense but not rough' Chilean Cabernet.
Vintage averages have barely moved in a decade: 3.8 for 2013, 3.9 for 2016, 4.0 for 2017–2018. Whichever year you buy, you are unlikely to be disappointed.
"Deep ruby. Fruit and bell pepper on the nose. Blackberry, plum, mocha. Medium-to-full body, medium-plus acidity. Good!" — Vivino review, Dec 2018, 4 stars (39 likes)
"Intense nose of oak and tobacco. Berries on the palate, velvety tannins, moderate acidity. Balanced and pleasant." — Vivino review, May 2018, 4 stars
"Dense, oaky, black fruit. Maybe a little too much. Worth drinking, but not one for the cellar." — Vivino review, May 2020, 4 stars
How I drank it
November 13, 2019, 3.5 stars. The note is one word: "Good."
I logged sixteen bottles that day and used that same word on three: this Tarapacá at 3.5, the Mrva & Stanko Cabernet at 3.5, and the Alta Vista Serenade at 4.5. Almaviva, also a Maipo Cabernet, got 4.5; the Bordeaux Mouton Cadet got 3. Tarapacá never appears in my log again.
My 3.5 is 0.4 below the community's 3.9, and James Suckling gave this 2016 vintage 93 points. Overseas retail is US$15–18, with about 12 months in French oak. With no re-tasting on record, I plan to open it again and update the score.
Where this wine shows up
"Top 5 Wines at E-Mart" articles are everywhere, but few are written by someone who has actually drunk the bottle. This picks five wines that already have a note on this magazine and a documented sighting on a Korean hypermarket shelf, with my score set next to Vivino's.
Vivino community data
2016 vintage rating distribution (9101 ratings, average 3.9)
| 5★ | 1061 (12%) | |
| 4★ | 5269 (58%) | |
| 3★ | 2536 (28%) | |
| 2★ | 185 (2%) | |
| 1★ | 50 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 1348 | oak 511 · tobacco 295 · vanilla 279 · chocolate 99 |
| Black fruit | 1114 | blackberry 336 · plum 212 · blackcurrant 177 · cassis 67 |
| Earth & leather | 523 | leather 171 · smoke 113 · earth 91 |
| Spice | 382 | pepper 221 · licorice 47 · mint 37 · menthol 22 |
| Red fruit | 354 | cherry 155 · raspberry 58 · strawberry 50 |
| Vegetal | 55 | bell pepper 18 · grass 7 |
| Floral | 47 | violet 32 |
Structure: Acidity 3.0/5 · Intensity 4.1/5 · Tannin 3.2/5 · Sweetness 1.9/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 74944 ratings, average 3.9)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3.7 | 3731 |
| 2011 | 3.6 | 3418 |
| 2012 | 3.7 | 3086 |
| 2013 | 3.8 | 7326 |
| 2014 | 3.9 | 4780 |
| 2015 | 3.9 | 7518 |
| 2016 | 3.9 | 9101 |
| 2017 | 4.0 | 10993 |
| 2018 | 4.0 | 7127 |
| 2019 | 3.9 | 3330 |
| 2020 | 4.0 | 2643 |
| 2021 | 3.9 | 1936 |
| 2022 | 4.0 | 3189 |
| 2023 | 3.9 | 1116 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Tarapacá Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon?
A Cabernet-led red from Viña Tarapacá (founded 1874) in Chile's Maipo Valley. About 12 months in French oak, 13.5–14% alcohol. A dense, rounded Chilean Cabernet with blackberry, plum, oak, tobacco and pepper; James Suckling 93 (2016), Vivino 3.9.
How much does it cost?
Overseas retail is US$15–18. It is among the cheapest wines ever to take a James Suckling 93, which is why it is shorthand for value Chilean Cabernet.
What food does it go with?
Per Vivino: beef, lamb, poultry and game. In Korea, reviewers often pair it with yangnyeom galbi (marinated short ribs), samgyeopsal (pork belly) and steak. It is a high-intensity wine, so grilled dishes suit it better than lighter fare.
What is the difference between Gran Reserva, Reserva and Etiqueta Negra?
The Tarapacá range runs Varietal < Reserva < Gran Reserva < Gran Reserva Etiqueta Azul (Blue Label). The black-label 'Etiqueta Negra' sold in the US is the same tier as the Gran Reserva sold in Korea. Gran Reserva is the first tier in the range to see French oak.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Wine.com — 2016 producer notes and James Suckling 93 points
- Wikipedia — Viña Tarapacá (founded 1874, VSPT group)
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Italy · Lombardy★½☆☆☆Tasted the same dayKendall-Jackson, Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
United States · Sonoma★★★★☆Tasted the same day1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2015
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Chile★★★★½Same producerMontes, Alpha M 2015
Chile · Central Chile★★★½☆Same producerMontes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
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