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That Useful Wine Site

  Wine explained, clearly and helpfully, including critic-recommended specimens of each variety.

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The Carménère Grape


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About Carménère

(Synonyms: Bordo, Cabernelle, Carbouet, Cabernet Gernicht, Cabernet Gernischet, Cabernet Gernischt, Cabernet Shelongzhu, Carbonet, Carbouet, Caremenelle, Carménègre, Carménère, Carmeneyre, Grosse Vidure)

Pronunciation: kar-men-AIR

Background

Map showing Chile

Carménère is a red-wine grape originating in Bordeaux, but now grown almost exclusively in Chile (chiefly in the Colchagua Valley, Rapel Valley, and Maipo Province). It is generally considered one of the dozen and a half or so of world-class red-wine grapes.

In Bordeaux, Carménère was, and to a small extent still is, one of the minor blending grapes in the red-wine blends characteristic of that region. In the New World, it has achieved respect and is typically bottled as a monovarietal, or with only small admixtures of other reds. A key factor is that it needs a long, warm growing season to succeed: Bordeaux lacks that, but Chile does not. Chile “inherited” the varietal from French emigrés who brought cuttings over in the 19th century. For a long time, those were mistakenly thought to be Merlot, but genetic analysis corrected the error and led to the grape’s resurgence as a premier varietal.

Its qualities are broadly similar to those of its Bordeaux “stablemates”, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Its chief distinguishing characteristic is a smoky, dusty quality; its fruit tends to be “darker”, and it is fairly light on tannins.

Tasters regularly report two broad styles, which might crudely be called “good” and “bad”. The grape seems always to have a bit of green-pepper taste; the distinction is whether that is an accent (good) or dominates (bad). Even the same vintner can produce lines of both kinds in a given year.

Note: the original spelling of the grape and wine is Carménère, and we use that throughout; but more and more nowadays, it is being rendered without the accents as just “Carmenere” (or sometimes with two accents: Carménère).

Factoid: Carménère might be the Biturica, an valued grape in ancient Rome and the name by which what is now the city of Bordeaux was then known.

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Some Descriptions of Carménère Wines

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Some Carmenere Bottlings to Try

(About this list.)

  Wines with a critics’ consensus score of 90:
Casa Silva "Gran Terroir Los Lingues" Carménère   [or search Cellar Tracker for this wine]
Clos de Luz Massal Carménère   [or search Cellar Tracker for this wine]
De Martino "Legado" Reserva Carménère   [or search Cellar Tracker for this wine]
Errazuriz "Max" Reserva Carménère   [or search Cellar Tracker for this wine]
Francois Lurton Hacienda Araucano "Humo Blanco" Edicion Limitada Carménère   [or search Cellar Tracker for this wine]
Marques de Casa Concha Carménère   [or search Cellar Tracker for this wine]
Miguel Torres "Cordillera de Los Andes" Reserva Especial Carménère   [or search Cellar Tracker for this wine]
Santa Ema "Amplus One" Carménère   [or search Cellar Tracker for this wine]
Tres Palacios "Family Vintage" Carménère   [or search Cellar Tracker for this wine]

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This page was last modified on Wednesday, 11 December 2024, at 9:48 pm Pacific Time.