Grown in only a few of the world`s wine regions, dark

the
accidental
wine
Grown in only a few of the world’s wine regions, dark,
idiosyncratic Carmenère has found a comfortable
home in Chile’s warm valleys.
MICHAEL SCHACHNER
T
P H OTO S
D AV I D M A LO S H
wo decades ago, Jean-Michel Boursiquot, a French ampelographer hired to help wineries in Chile’s Maule Valley determine
what grape varieties were in their oldest vineyards, dropped
a bombshell on his clients. Thousands of acres that the Chileans had long thought were Merlot were actually an obscure
variety called Carmenère.
“Carmen-what?” the Chileans asked.
34 | WINE ENTHUSIAST | MARCH 2014
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BY
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O
riginally imported from
Bordeaux, Carmenère can
be green and herbaceous
if the grapes aren’t picked
fully ripe—hence the uneven reputation
of Chilean “Merlot” in the early 1990s.
Yet today, Carmenère—known for its
deep color, plush tannins and unique,
spicy aromas and flavors—is poised to
pass Merlot and become Chile’s second
most widely planted red variety after
Cabernet Sauvignon. Many winemakers
are working hard to turn it into a signature wine for a country whose global
sales hit a plateau in recent years.
Given that about 98 percent of the
world’s Carmenère exists here, the grape
is already inextricably part of Chilean
wine, for better or worse. It’s for the better if, like many in the Chilean wine community assert, Carmenère has positive
attributes as a varietal red wine or as a
component in Cabernet-led blends.
Naysayers believe the wines are too
loaded with olive and green characteristics to ever draw a serious following. The
French were right to eradicate it, they
say, and the Chileans are foolish for trying to make Carmenère into something
it’ll never be: a world-class varietal wine.
Carmenère requires sun-drenched,
THESE 12 EXAMPLES OF CARMENÈRE SHOW THAT Concha y Toro 2010 Terrunyo
Block 27 Entre Cordilleras (Peumo). Mossy, lightly herbal aromas of
blackberry and marzipan are attractive.
This is rich and racy in the mouth, with
vanilla, tobacco, plum and berry flavors
that finish long and ride elegantly on
a beam of slightly sharp acidity. Drink
this fine Carmenère through 2016. Excelsior Wines.
abv: 14.5%
Price: $50
92
Santa Carolina 2009 Herencia
(Peumo). Keeping with past
performances, Herencia is again one
of Chile’s best Carmenères. This is
bold, toasty and ripe on the nose, with
tobacco and vanilla nuances. The palate is huge but in shape, while toasty,
chocolaty flavors, along with herbal
plum and berry notes, end chewy and
36 | WINE ENTHUSIAST | MARCH 2014
deep. Drink through 2016. Carolina
Wine Brands USA.
abv: 15%
Price: $90
92
Viu Manent 2010 El Incidente
(Colchagua Valley). Lofty from
the start, this extracted Carmenère
pumps out toasty, herbal aromas of
smoked meat, leather and black fruits.
The palate feels flush and thick, while
flavors of baked blackberry, herbs,
spice, mint and pepper finish with a
warm wave of mocha and chewy tannins. Drink through 2017. Baystate
Wine & Spirits.
abv: 14.5%
Price: $50
91
Montes 2010 Alpha (Colchagua
Valley). Everything about this
mid-tier Carmenère seems right. The
nose deals black-fruit aromas along
with black olive, licorice and herbal
notes. The mouth is round, friendly and
textured, with a mix of roasted plum,
berry, herb, spice, olive and tomato flavors. On the finish, it’s balanced. Drink
now–2016. TGIC Importers.
abv: 14.5%
Price: $25
91
San Pedro 2010 Tierras Moradas
(Maule Valley). Plum, berry, licorice and balsamic aromas are earthy
and classy. This feels chunky and
heavy, but not ponderous. Flavors of
prune, rooty spices, mint and chocolate
finish with mocha and fig notes. Enjoy
this ripe, full-bodied wine anytime
through 2017. Shaw-Ross International
Importers.
abv: 14%
Price: $45
91
Santa Rita 2008 Pehuén (Apalta). With cool, herbal aromas
of cola, pine, juniper, fine oak and savory berry fruits, this is a fine Carmenère. The palate is full, deep and still
fresh after several years in the bottle.
Flavors of stewed cherry, baked plum
and cassis come with no shortage of savory support, while the finish is saucy
in taste, with raciness, gravitas and
length. Drink through 2018. Palm Bay
International.
abv: 14.5%
Price: $70
90
Errazuriz 2010 Kai (Aconcagua
Valley). This absurdly priced
Carmenère is always one of Chile’s
best, and this vintage is just fine, with
cherry, cassis, graphite, herb and eucalyptus-like green aromas. The palate
is chunky and round in feel, with solid
acidity and plump, herbal flavors of
berry fruits, olive and spice. But what
justifies a $235 price tag? You can be
the judge. Vintus LLC.
abv: 14.5%
Price: $235
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92
Carmenère’s History
and Pioneers
THE VARIETY’S FUTURE IS BRIGHT
90
Lapostolle 2010 Cuvée Alexandre Apalta Vineyard
(Colchagua Valley). Opaque in color
and superrich on the nose, it has
dominant aromas of earth, leather,
baked fruit and spice. It feels lush
and chunky, maybe a touch soft, with
earthy, naturally herbal flavors of
dark fruit, plum and chocolate. The
finish is smooth and warming. Terlato Wines International.
abv: 14.3%
Price: $25
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90
Siegel 2012 Single Vineyard
(Colchagua Valley). Minty
plum and berry aromas are herbal
but ripe, with a note of chocolate
and black tea. This is lush and layered, with top-end mouthfeel and
herbal, floral flavors of berry fruits
and plum. A smooth, herbal tasting
finish is the finale to a well-made,
flavorful wine. Kysela Père et Fils.
abv: 13.5%
Price: $22
90
Viña Bisquertt 2010 Ecos de
Rulo Single Vineyard (Colchagua Valley). Although this smells
a bit flat and earthy, cool, herbal
berry aromas as well as coffee and
spice make this inviting and easy to
like. A flush, jammy palate maintains its pulse, while a mix of spicy
black fruits, licorice, espresso and
chocolate flavors end long and lightly
herbal. Drink this cuddly wine sooner rather than later. Prestige Wine
Group.
abv: 14%
Price: $20
89
Undurraga
2012
Sibaris
Reserva Especial (Colchagua
Valley). Spicy, earthy cherry and
cassis aromas are true to the variety.
This is juicy, bright and substantive
in feel, with red berry, oak spice and
herbal flavors. A minty, chocolaty
finish full of herbs and spices provides for a good ending. Testa Wines
Of The World.
abv: 14.5%
Price: $17
85
Santa Alicia 2012 Reserva
(Maipo Valley). Hard spice
and minty green aromas heavily
shadow the wine’s fruit character. In
the mouth, it’s mildly creamy feeling,
while the flavors suggest toast, herbs,
chocolate and spicy berry fruit. This
is a basic but honest representation
of Carmenère. Halby Marketing. Best
Buy.
abv: 14%
Price: $10
Once fairly common in Bordeaux but not
­replanted there after Europe’s 19th-century
phylloxera plague because of its propensity for
­uneven ripening, Carmenère celebrates its 20th
birthday as a named entity in Chilean wine this
year.
Following Carmenère’s unexpected discovery in Chile, only a few wineries wanted anything
to do with the grape. Most felt the name was
unheard of outside hardcore wine and agronomy communities (they were correct).
They were also a bit chapped to have “lost”
all their Merlot, a variety that reached its apex in
popularity during the 1990s.
Marcelo Retamal was a rookie winemaker
at De Martino in the mid ’90s when he received
management’s go-ahead to bottle Chile’s first
varietally labeled Carmenère, the 1996 Santa
Ines.
“The vineyard had been planted in 1992 as
Merlot, but we harvested it that year as Carmenère,” Retamal says.
Tesco, the large U.K.-based supermarket
chain, purchased the entire production of that
vintage. But the Chilean government, which
hadn’t updated its list of approved varieties,
blocked the shipment.
“They told us we couldn’t sell a wine that
didn’t exist,” says Retamal.
Shortly thereafter, Carmenère was entered
into the books as a permitted variety.
Alongside Retamal, I tasted this groundbreaking wine in December, and it was ­awful.
It was dirty, slightly oxidized, leathery and,
as R
­ etamal himself said, “intomable,” which
means “undrinkable” in Spanish.
We then tasted another 10 or so vintages
of De Martino Carmenère, noting that the wine
went from rustic early on, to dark, extracted and
overly tannic in the early 2000s, to a style today
that emphasizes lower alcohol levels and more
freshness.
In general, such a style doesn’t fit what Carmenère inherently wants to be: big, muscular and chunky, with alcohol levels of at least
14.5%. But it’s a style that’s attainable, as evidenced by other modern Carmenères that do
the category proud.
Alvaro Espinoza, a contemporary of Retamal who bottled Carmenère under the varietal
name Grande Vidure (a French synonym for
Carmenère) for Viña Carmen in the 1990s, now
produces a single-site Carmenère in Alto Maipo
under his Antiyal label.
It’s a smooth, natural, full-flavored wine
with just a touch of sulfites and tartaric acid
added for freshness. The wine sees no oak and
is fermented in an egg-shaped cement tank.
“In 1994, when I made the Grande Vidure for
Carmen, I was told by the big guys to shut up,”
says Espinoza. “‘You’re hurting the reputation
of Chilean Merlot,’ I was told. My feeling was, if
people have liked our Merlot when it was really Carmenère, let’s make Carmenère better and
promote it.”
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dry growing conditions and minimal lateseason rains so that grapes can ripen well
into May (the equivalent of November in
the Northern Hemisphere).
Also, if soils are too fertile, the vines
can overproduce, leading to vegetal aromas and flavors.
Carmenère ripens best in Apalta
and Marchigue in Colchagua, Peumo in
Cachapoal, Huelquén in the Alto Maipo,
Pencahue in the Maule Valley and Panquehue in the Aconcagua Valley.
“Low yields, along with dry conditions
with easy draining soils, are the keys to
getting Carmenère that’s ripe, round and
not green,” says veteran winemaker Aurelio Montes, who has been working with
the grape since the time when everyone
thought it was Merlot.
“Too much vigor and it’ll be green forever, while the best vineyards are rich
in iron and loam; the red color indicates
that the ground is getting plenty of air,”
he says.
Montes’s beliefs are shared by other
winemakers who either dabble with or
specialize in Carmenère, people like Andrés Caballero at Santa Carolina, Marcelo Retamal at De Martino, Marco Puyo at
San Pedro, Francisco Baettig at Errazuriz, Alvaro Espinoza at Antiyal and Mario
Geisse at Casa Silva.
Baettig, whose high-priced Kai has
consistently garnered some of Wine Enthusiast’s highest ratings among varietally labeled Carmenères, adds that vine
age is important in harvesting ripe berries.
As Chileans embarked on a learning
curve to understand the grape’s characteristics and leanings, it has only been
in recent vintages that winemakers have
been able to work with vineyards in their
prime.
“There really aren’t any [pure] oldvine Carmenère vineyards,” Baettig says.
“Even the oldest places like Apalta and
Maule are field blends, where the Carmenère is mixed in with other things.
“So, the good Carmenère vineyards
are at most 10 to 15 years old, and more
than almost any other variety, Carmenère
needs to come from mature vines to be
good.”
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Carmenère
at the Table
Today’s Chilean Carmenère is infinitely better
than the early wines
made by the likes of
Retamal and Espinoza. It’s also one of
Chile’s most foodfriendly red wines.
During my recent
visit, I met with Andrés
Caballero of Santa Carolina, whose Reserva de Familia and Herencia Carmenères regularly rate
90 points and above.
We tasted these
wines and a number of singlevineyard Carmenères from
various spots
throughout
Chile.
Then we tried
the wines with a
table full of Indian
foods—samosas, curried chicken, tamarind
sauce, etc. The combinations were superb, the inherent spice and sauciness in the wines playing
perfectly off mild spice
flavors.
“Cabernet Sauvignon has high acidity and hard tannins;
it needs meat,” says
Caballero.
“But with Middle Eastern and Indian
food, even some Asian
foods like ramen or beef in
black pepper sauce, Carmenère is a great pairing,” says Caballero. “The
tannins and acidity don’t
clash with the spices. It’s
one of the best foodand-wine pairings we
have.”
After a week of
trying more than 50
Chilean Carmenères,
on top of years spent
evaluating Chilean
Carmenère, I concur.
Carmenère definitely isn’t
for everyone, but its good
qualities—richness, spicy
notes, smooth tannins
and compatibility with
food—make it well
worth a try.
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