| 15.5 / 20 |
Region: Vale de Rapel
Country: Chile
Carmenere is a grape type exclusive to Chile. Originally used in France, all vines were destroyed in the early 19th century by phylloxera. It was rediscovered in Chile in 1994. Like Malbec in Argentina, Carmenere seems to have found a good terroir in Chile and is quickly becoming Chile's flagship wine.
This one, from Concha Y Toro, is a very dark wine, almost purple. The aromas start in a definite vegetable, green fashion, reminiscent of bellpeppers. These are later subdued and replaced with intense, rich dark plums along with some nice oak/toast. Very attractive and intense, in a typical new world fashion.
Good fruit-forward mouth, vibrant and fresh, showing some dry, marked tannins that are maybe a bit too hard right now.
The finish is marked by dark plums, again, along with the same vegetable notes found in the bouquet. Good persistence.
Still a very young wine, it is already very drinkable and enjoyable. But maybe a year or so down the road will help those tannins tame a bit and make it even more enjoyable.
For me, a good first experience with Carmenere - will try to find more.
Tasted on 2011-07-03
No comments:
Post a Comment