Carmenere

  • Aromas and Flavors: red fruits, spices and berries, dark chocolate, tobacco, and leather
  • AKA: Grande Vidure ( historic Bordeaux synonym), Carmenère may be Biturica, the vine of ancient Roman praise, and also the word then used to call the city that became Bordeaux
  • Tannins are gentler and softer than Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Considered part of the original six red grapes of Bordeaux, France (along with Cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot)
  • Naturally develops high levels of sugar before the tannins achieve ripeness
  • If grown in too hot a climate the resulting wine will have a high alcohol level and low balance
  • Grapes have to be fully ripe to avoid a “green tomato leaf” chacteristic
  • Popular blending variety with Sangiovese in Tuscany called “Predicato di Biturica”
  • One of the most ancient varieties in Bordeaux, plantings have not been maintained in this region, in the rest of France, or anywhere in Europe
  • Requiring more heat to ripen than the other varietals planted in Bordeaux and its erratic tendency to develop a condition called coulure, poor fruit set after flowering, may have caused Carmenère to fall out of favor
  • Imported to South America in the 1850s, along with other Bordeaux varieties, prior to the European outbreak of Phylloxera
  • Largest established vineyards of this variety are in Chile, many of these were misidentified as Merlot (the two vines share many similarities) for more than a century
  • In 2009, two of Chile’s leading universities began a two-year study of Carmenère seeking causes and cures for the grape’s undesirable tendencies of poor fruit set, late ripening, and high pyrazine content 
  • Also grown in Italy’s Eastern Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions and in smaller quantities in the California and Walla Walla regions of the United States