Valle Frio, Carmenère, Maule, 2019

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Valle Frio, Carmenère, Maule, 2019

As ever, this is so classy, velvety and smart - it tastes like a much more expensive Bordeaux! This is lush and ripe, red and black-fruited, with the characteristic leafy edge of the grape - and excellent length. Now-2022

Carmenère, a French grape variety now almost forgotten in its home in Bordeaux, was only identified in Chilean vineyards by a French ampelographer, Jean-Michel Boursiquot, in 1994. It turned out that a good proportion of the nation's Merlot vineyards were actually Carmenère. Once growers distinguished the vine from Merlot, they could give it different viticultural attention: Carmenère benefits from careful canopy management and ripens three weeks after Merlot. Jancis Robinson and her collaborators in Wine Grapes inform us that the grape is a cross between Cabernet Franc and Gros Cabernet. I find this reassuring as I have been comparing the flavour profile of Chilean Carmenère to Cabernet Franc for years. Like Cabernet Franc it often shows a touch of leafiness and interesting aromatic hints of smoke and tobacco.