Chilean Winemakers Breathes New Life into Carménère
The wine marketplace is crowded, and it can be hard to find a niche. That is especially true in places like Chile, when what you are offering is based on blends that are also produced all over the world, often from places with more recognition and history. That was one of the major reasons that, when an obscure variety was rediscovered in Chile, producers tried to capitalize on it. Carménère is all old Bordeaux variety that has all but become extinct in its original home. After Phylloxera, it was not often replanted in Bordeaux.
Up until the 1980s and ‘90s, all of the Bordeaux varieties that were available in Chile (and most of South America) were decedents from the original importation of those grapes in the 1850s. They all arrived before Phylloxera. And from that time until the mid ‘90s, Carménère was all but forgotten, just another red grape that went into the blend—or it was confused with Merlot. Once winemakers determined that the grape they were seeing all over was in fact Carménère, they quickly latched onto it. The hopes were that it would become Chile’s Malbec. Instead of becoming Chile’s Malbec, it became Chile’s Pinotage. Carménère has an incredible fruit profile, but it also has a rustic edge and a distinct spiciness. When not treated appropriately the more challenging characteristics get amplified. It has taken the past two decades to determine the best way to grow and vinify it to tame the rustic edge. The Colchagua Valley, it turns out, is a fantastic place for Carménère, with the combination of the right soils and the long growing season that make this unique variety shine. Now that Chile is about 30 years into its journey with this Carménère, there is much to celebrate and champion. Chile has found its niche with wines that stand alone in the marketplace as showcases for what this grape can do.
2019 Viña Maquis "Lien" Red Blend Colchagua Valley $34.99 95TA 94JS 93VN 93WA 93DS The modern wine industry in Chile reaches back into the mid-19th century when production of wine left Southern Chile and established itself outside of Santiago. Looking to Europe for a model on how to build the industry, they chose Bordeaux for many reasons, namely that the landscape and the soil compositions were (and are) very similar. As the industry expanded southward into the Colchagua Valley, the sites next to rivers with their gravelly alluvial soils were chosen to be planted. The vineyards of Viña Maquis are between two rivers, and their soil is poor and deep. Following the Bordeaux pattern, Cabernet Sauvignon and its siblings were planted; however, the blend has always been more Cabernet Franc and Carménère dominant. Over the years the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon has increased while the Carménère has decreased.
Enough back story; this wine is awesome. When you pull the cork the wine blossoms out of the bottle. The core of the wine is dark berry fruit, plums and dark berries. It then deepens with a mixture of green notes that range from tobacco to soap tree to fresh herbs. This does not have aggressive green notes that the wines from the region are infamous for, it is just slightly more pronounced than some old-school Bordeaux. The wine is full and intense. This is a solidly built wine that wants a rich meal—ideally for me either lamb or steak. I like to say that Chilean wine is a combination of Bordeaux and Napa, and this could be one of the most perfect examples of that. I would assume that most Bordeaux producers that make wines that sell for a similar price would be envious of the structure and the depth of this wine.
2020 Ventisquero "Vértice" Carménère-Syrah Apalta Valley $31.99 95TA 95DS The “Vertice” is a joint production of Ventisquero and John Duval. John Duval is one of the most famous and acclaimed winemakers in the Southern Hemisphere. K&L regularly sells his family’s wines (John Duval). Before starting his own project, he was the head winemaker, for almost 30 years, at Penfolds. John knows a thing or two about Syrah and blending with Syrah, so it is no surprise that the decision was made to blend Chile’s unique Cabernet cousin (Carménère) with Syrah, just like the famous Bin389. This is sourced from a single vineyard that is located in the hills of the Apalta Valley. The soils are clay and granitic, the Syrah planted in the more granitic part. Aged for 22 months in 300L French oak barrels, there is nothing like this in the store. The Carménère and Syrah fruit mix into an exotic blend of dark red fruits. There is a savory element which deepens the fruit. The palate is full and almost juicy. The time in oak has softened any edges that this might have had, it glides on the palate. The great thing about this wine is that there is nothing else like it, all the comparisons that I want to reach for will only confuse you and me, so I won’t.