Carmenere

Although not recognized as a noble grape, Carmenere is an interesting variety with an even more interesting history. It’s home is Bordeaux but this is not its power base; in Chile Carmenere has discovered new life. Once thought to be extinct and now rarely found in France, Carmenere is thriving in Chile’s warmer climate and longer growing season. Carmenere is Chile’s grape. At least this is how it was sold to us September in Chicago when Don, Ryan, and I visited Terra Andina’s new chief wine-marker Oscar Salas who was hosting a seminar and tasting for Terra Andina’s United States distributors. Carmenere can make a substantial red wine; I knew this before we left for Chicago. What I didn’t know was how polished these reds could be. Leaning towards an international style all of Oscar’s wines were clean, articulate, and thoughtful. I was shocked at how ripe the reds were. As if the green/iron thumbprint had been shined away and in its place there was a unity of fruit and perhaps a growing clarity of terroir.

Perhaps I’m getting carried away. It’s hard to separate the good times I had with Don and Ryan on that trip and the bottle of A. Margaine ‘demi-sec’ we drank after dinner that night from the feelings that were sweeping over me as we had just entered into our current situation. I was happy to be in Chicago and was excited about the reds that I had tasted that afternoon. I knew these were wines that I could sell with confidence and that Terra Andina was going to continue to make good decisions.

Terra Andina’s “varietal” level Carmenere can retail for as low as 7.99 and the “reserve” 12.99. There is incredible impact here for the dollar. Chilean reds traditionally run green. That’s a stigma they’ll continue to face. Yet these wines provide excellent value under ten dollars and stellar value both under and above fifteen. Carmenere may never enjoy the hysterics that Malbec has inspired but that does not exclude it from the tribe of traditional varieties that have found new life in the new world. With the soft dollar Europe remains an overstretched dime. Chilean wines are the opposite. These wines are over-performing as they clamor for recognition and their place on the world stage.