CARMENERE

I am a BIG fan of the Carmenere grape. Grown in Chile and almost nowhere else, this classic grape is loaded with dark fruit and soft tannins. Ask how long one can store a good Carmenere and everyone shrugs their shoulders.

Once a significant player in French Bordeaux wines in the 1800’s, then wiped out by the phylloxera outbreak and not replanted, the grape was thought to be extinct for many years. In the 1990’s however, in an effort to find out why some of the Chilean Merlots were of poor quality, analysts discovered that many of the Merlot grape vines were in fact Carmenere. Requiring and getting 3 weeks longer to ripen and blessed with a longer growing season than in France, Carmenere has found a home in Chile and Chile has found a national grape.

A good Carmenere can be found in the $9-12 range. A really good Carmenere and carm-blends can be had for $15-25. Great Carms from $30+. Buy a great one and store it away ---but don’t ask me for how long. – Fred Horowitz – www.suburbanwines.com