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Carmenere is a dark-skinned red wine grape variety originally from the vineyards of Bordeaux, but which has now found a particularly happy home in Chile, where it is sometimes also known as Grande Vidure. A late-ripening variety, Carmenere requires high levels of sunshine and a warm summer to show its true potential, but in the right environment it can produce fine, deeply-colored red wines with the attractive meaty plumpness of Merlot and the gently herbaceous, cedary notes of Cabernet Sauvignon. These similarities are not altogether surprising, as Carmenere is thought by some to be the 'grandfather' of Bordeaux varieties.
It is a little-known fact that neither Cabernet Sauvignon nor Merlot gained much momentum in Bordeaux until the mid-18th century. This begs the question as to which grapes varieties were used to make Bordelais wines prior to this. Carmenere figures largely in the answer, particularly in the Medoc, where it had a long-standing and successful partnership with Cabernet Franc. It was in fact one of the most widely planted varieties throughout the region, on both left and right banks. This remained the status quo right up until the 1860s, when the dreaded phylloxera louse (to which Carmenere vines are particularly defenseless) arrived in Europe from the Americas. Carmenere doesn't respond as well to grafting as Merlot or Cabernet, so the variety was largely abandoned when phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks were introduced as the solution to the phylloxera crisis.
Prior to this crisis, in 19th century, pre-phylloxera Bordeaux, enterprising Chilean vignerons took cuttings from the region's vineyards. A high proportion of what they collected was not the Merlot they believed it to be, but the similar-looking Carmenere. It is a complex irony that these men came searching for one grape variety in the early days of its fame, but erroneously left with another, long-established variety, whose days were (at the time) clearly marked. In doing so they saved Carmenere from extinction – a fact for which the Chilean wine industry is endlessly grateful.
The leaves of Merlot and Carmenere vines are so alike that the error was not uncovered until 1994, when DNA research carried out in Montpellier confirmed that Chile's distinctive strain of 'Merlot' was in fact Carmenere. A search for Chilean Carmenere on Wine-Searcher will confirm just how rapidly the variety has taken off since its 'discovery'. There is a parallel to be drawn here with Malbec, also once common in Bordeaux but now enthusiastically adopted by winemakers all over Chile's neighbor Argentina.
Chile has capitalized well on its status as the savior of Carmenere, and has incorporated the vine's memorable story into its famously efficient wine marketing. Montes' Purple Angel, Concha y Toro's Carmin de Peumo and the Vina Errazuriz Kai are all examples of prestige Carmenere wines, all actively jockeying for status as Chile's first iconic Carmenere.
As news of Carmenere's success in Chile has filtered through, the vine has been taken up as a curiosity in several regions around the world, although it has yet to make more than a blip on the radar anywhere outside Chile. Carmenere grapes are now sanctioned for use in several northern Italian DOCs, of which Friuli Latisana is an example. There, Carmenere is not just autorizzato (authorized) under DOC laws but actually raccomandato (recommended), even for use in varietal wines. Even if Italian Carmenere plantings remain scarce, it is significant that the variety was singled out for attention at all. The variety has even reached the shores of New Zealand, where Ransom Wines discovered it in their Matakana vineyards, masquerading as a clone of Cabernet Franc. It arrived there, interestingly enough, from northern Italy. It seems that the variety has found its way to the New World incognito, but has been warmly welcomed once recognized.
Back in its erstwhile home in Bordeaux, Carmenere vines are still grown in a small number of estates including classed growths Haut-Bailly, Brane-Cantenac and Clerc-Milon and Chateaux Claribes and Le Puy further east in Sainte Foy and Francs respectively. Whether plantings will increase in response to the variety's Chilean successes will become clear over the next decade or so.
Popular blends include: Cabernet Sauvignon – Carmenere, Bordeaux blend
Synonyms include: Grand Vidure
Related grape varieties include: Merlot
Food matches include:
Europe: Pork sausage, lentil and bean stew
America: Grilled beef with cilantro sauce
Asia: Lamb korma and dal makhani
Australasia: Barbequed lamb chops with minted peas
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