Carmenère
Ancient Bordeaux red variety, virtually extinct in France, that became Chile's signature grape — soft, plush wines redolent of green tobacco, coffee and leather.
About the grape
Carmenère is an ancient Bordeaux variety (known there as grande vidure) whose parents are cabernet franc and gros cabernet, making it a half sibling of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Virtually extinct in Bordeaux today, it was brought to Chile in the late nineteenth century and — after spending generations mis-identified as merlot — is now considered Chile's signature grape, with plantings on a dramatic rise. The highest-quality examples are fascinating, soft, plush wines redolent of green tobacco, coffee and leather, and it can make complex, intensely red-hued wines. It is often blended with cabernet sauvignon (and sometimes syrah) to make Chile's greatest reds. The name may derive from carmin — crimson in Latin — a reference to the vivid red of the variety's leaves at harvest. In China it is known as cabernet gernischt.
Where it grows
Aconcagua Valley, Cachapoal Valley, Central Valley, Colchagua Valley, Maipo Valley, Maule
