The theme of this weeks wine tasting at our local wine shop was Carménère wines from Chile. Carménère was once a grape of the Médoc in Bordeaux, sometimes as the primary grape and sometimes for blending. Now, though, it is rarely found in France as it was not replanted after the phylloxera epidemic in 1867. Now there are only a few hundred acres of Carménère left in France. Before that, cuttings were brought to Chile though they were misidentified as Merlot. Vintners did notice that it seemed to be a late ripening Merlot, however. It was not until 1994 that they were correctly identified. By that time they had been planted widely in the valleys around Santiago Chile and the wines were gaining a good reputation.
Carménère has also been planted in California, the Walla Walla Valley in Washington and a small amount in Australia and New Zealand. The grape prefers a moderate to warm climate without much water, particularly near harvest time. Too much water gives a strong herbal and green pepper flavor. From experience I have noticed the amount of green pepper flavor as it varies from vintage to vintage depending on the weather. The word Carménère in French means crimson and describes the color of the leaves when they are ready to fall.
The first of seven wines we tasted was the 2008 Korta Barrel Selection Reserve which was a medium ruby color with tobacco, smoke and a bit of vanilla on the nose. There was tobacco, chocolate and dark fruit flavors with significant, grippy tannins and good acid. Very nice, not over ripe fruit. The Korta is from the Lontue Valley south of Santiago, Chile.
2009 Santa Rita Reserva from the Rapel Valley also south of Santiago. It had a very dark ruby color with a stinky nose initially. This wine smelled and tasted like wet newspaper to Nancy, not at all pleasant. She felt the wine was corked. There were mixed opinions about this wine and whether it was corked. I didn’t really pick up the mustiness and thought it had good fruit flavors, though not complex.
Third was the 2010 Hacienda Araucano Reserva from the Colchagua Valley. The winery belongs to Francois Lurton, winemaker and distributor for wines of France, Argentina, Chile, Portugal and Spain. The wine has a dark ruby color and a red fruit nose with a bit of bell pepper (a very pleasing combination). The flavors are vegetal and dark fruit with slightly bitter tannins and good acid. In spite of the bitter tannins, it is a better balanced wine that the Santa Rita Reserva.
Next was the 2010 Natura, also from the Colchagua Valley and made with organically grown grapes. The color was a very dark blue-ruby. There was cherry fruit on the nose, dark fruit and cedar flavors and moderate tannins with good acid. An interesting combination of fruit and cedar. This wine was more fruit forward than any of the prior wines.
Now we were up to the 2006 Casa Silva Reserva from the Colchagua Valley. It was a dark garnet color and had an earthy nose (like a combination of dirt and mulch). The flavors are earthy with dark fruit and a hint of cedar. Significant smooth tannins. This is a pleasant version of the Santa Rita Reserva.
Almost last was the 2009 Haras de Prique from the Maipo Valley. We now have moved to the north of Santiago. Like some of the previous wines it has a very dark ruby color with a bell pepper nose. The flavors were dark fruit and bell pepper and there were significant tannins and good acid. This wine tasted better with some cheese, the very prominent vegetal/green pepper flavors aren’t as obvious with food.
And finally the 2008 De Martino Legado Reserva also from the Maipo Valley had a dark ruby color. The nose reminded you of cherry cough drops with a slight medicinal smell. There were smokey, rich, very ripe fruit flavors with moderate tannins and good acid. This wine will suit the wine drinker who likes riper wines.
Fortunately none of these wines were over oaked or too ripe. There were differences in how much herbal or green pepper flavors there were in each wine. Probably due to vintage differences. I tried each wine by itself and with cheese. While each was nice on it’s own, they did go well with cheese as it tended to reduce the perceived tannins and the green pepper flavor.
