Carmenere grapes
image courtesy Wines of Chile
Carmenere’s dramatic back story always reminds me of a telenovela heroine that lived in the shadows until her true noble identity was revealed. Long mistaken for Merlot, Carmenere arrived in Chile in the 1800’s with other Bordeaux varieties. In 1867, that dastardly louse known as Phylloxera wiped out most of Bordeaux’s vineyards, including Carmenere. Meanwhile, Carmenere was secretly thriving in Chile. After years of obscurity, Carmenere was finally correctly identified in 1994, and the course of Chilean winemaking was forever changed. Now known throughout the world as Chile's signature wine, the quality of Carmenere has improved greatly over the years and Chilean winemakers have committed themselves to discovering its full range of expression.
If you’re not familiar with Carmenere, TerraNoble Carmenere Gran Reserva 2017 ($19) is a charming introduction. 100% Carmenere from the Maule Valley, on the nose it has a subtle hint of the green bell pepper aromas often associated with Carmenere. On the palate it is juicy and full-bodied with silky sweet tannins and flavors of ripe black fruit, clove, spice, and bittersweet chocolate. A tasty wine at a very nice price.
If you really want to geek out on Carmenere and better understand its nuances and capacity to express terroir, try a side-by-side tasting of the 2017 vintages of TerraNoble CA1 Carmenere Andes and CA2 Carmenere Costa. Both wines are $24.99. As the name indicates, the Carmenere grapes for Costa 2017 were sourced from vineyards on the coastal mountain range of the Colchagua Valley, where constant breezes from the Pacific Ocean cool the grapes. The resulting wine is soft, fruit-forward, and fresh with a hint of salinity. Meanwhile, the grapes for Carmenere Andes 2017 are sourced from vineyards in the warm Andes foothills of the Colchagua valley. This a fuller and more intense wine with rich red fruit flavors and herbaceous, mineral, and vegetal notes.
Visit the TerraNoble website to learn more about their wines.
