Carménère: Not All Are Created Equal

Last week, I told my sister that I was doing a live blogging event with Wines of Chile. She was really excited for me. Then I told her I'd be tasting 8 Carménères. Her tone changed. Sympathy city.

"That stuff tastes like shit," I think were her exact words. I couldn't exactly argue with her, nor could I concur. In my past experience the wines have been all over the map -- some are great, and some are really, really, really freaking awful. I entered the tasting with some trepidation.

Chile is a fabulous country for wine. The Sauvignon Blanc kicks ass, the Cabernet is delicious, and the Chardonnay beautiful. But the big deal in this little sliver of a country is a rare grape originally from Bordeaux, Carménère. They used to blend it into the fine wines on the Left Bank of Bordeaux to add some red fruit and spice notes to the mix. The problem with the grape is that it was a pain to grow. It's fragile, susceptible to rot and fungus, and frankly didn't thrive in its native home. In the late 1800s there was a giant pest infestation in Bordeaux and when the growers replanted they decided to let Carménère go the way of the dinosaur.

The thing they didn't know is that somehow vine clippings made their way around the world to Chile. The Chileans grew it and thought it was some weird strain of Merlot, labeling it that way when they began making wines in earnest and exporting them to the US. I'm not sure how they confused the two grapes, since Carménère is kind of weird and Merlot is really straightforward, but hey, we'll give them a buy on it (I mean growers in California blend 25% Syrah into Pinot Noir and call it Pinot Noir, so I guess it's not too far off from that...).

Now the Chilean wineries are pushing out Carménère and are doing PR around it (hence my event). In my personal experience and in the blogger event I found tremendous variability in the wine. I usually say that if you don't know what you like, remember a region you like and try stuff from there until you get bored. Here, I feel pretty strongly about that and about the fact that you need to find the right producer and seek them out too. Because although the wines in the blogger event were all well-made, there were some that tasted so off to me that I could barely drink them.

After the tasting I realized that I definitely prefer Carménère from the Rapel Valley, specifically from the Colchagua Valley sub region. The other regions produced wines that tasted like green pepper, V-8 juice, and mothballs/old lady (I swear. M.C. Ice can vouch). The second thing I will say is that Carménère is a huge wine. It stains your teeth, it's flavorful and spicy, and it can be fabulous. Because this post is so long, I'm going to mention my three favorites with a short explanation on why they are kick-ass wines that you should have ASAP.... here goes:

1. Vina La Rosa, La Capitana Carménère 2008. This wine is one of the most delicious reds I've had in a LONG time. It smelled like incense and was multi-layered with red berry and blueberry undertones and gorgeous flavors of oregano, cigar, and an unbelievable balance of tannins and acids. This wine is phenomenal. For $18.00 this drinks like a $40 bottle and it was the only one of the 8 that we finished. This is everything that Carménère should and could be.



2. Cono Sur Vision Carménère, 2007 (clever pun on the name, no?). Don't drink this right out of the bottle. It needs to sit in a glass or a decanter for a minimum of 30 minutes. After that you will get a rush of black tea, blueberry, black pepper, and coffee up the nose. The wine tasted like roasted nuts, violets, and coffee and the tannins were thick and juicy. I love this wine because it's delicious but also because it's organic and it proves that organic wines can be as great as those farmed chemically. For $15, this is well worth seeking out.




3. Santa Carolina Reserva Carménère 2008. This wine could also use a little mellowing in the glass or decanter. If you do that you'll get rid of the tomato-like flavors that are hanging around when you first open the bottle (I think this is typical of Carménère, and frankly, I don't like it.). With some time, it's a solid wine -- lighter and simpler than the others with plum, blackberry, and blueberry flavors and a hint of sage and brown butter. The tannins are soft and for $10, this is the most unbelievable deal you are going to find on Carménère.

On food...All Carménère will pair best with brown food (you know, like meat and mushroom stuff). Anything red and it will taste tomato-y, anything green may bring out the green pepper, and it will annihilate anything light colored.

So ends the exploration for now. Go out and try these and don't give up if you've had a nasty Carménère in the past. These wines have great potential and they don't all taste like old-lady, green peppers, and V-8.

Enjoy and tell me what you find!

Disclosure: Wines of Chile sent complimentary samples to me, but I only reviewed those I loved! A full transcript of the event is here.