Living it up with Carmenere

Ever since I was introduced in the late 1990s to a beauty named carmenere (pronounced carmen-yeah) we've been friends. Very close friends.

And so have others to whom I have since introduced this wine made from one of the six original red grapes of Bordeaux, a variety thought for more than 150 years to be virtually extinct.

All six were victims of an epidemic in the late 1800s caused by the microscopic but ravenous phylloxera louse which attacks the roots of viniferia vines, the species which produces the great European grape varieties.

Unlike the other reds (the cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot) carmenere was, however, never replanted because it is also susceptible to coulure, a naturally-occurring condition which can produce extremely low yields. Hence little of the grape that had been one of the most planted in the Medoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux survived.

What everybody forgot though, or did not know till still a group of French scientists became suspicious in the early 1990s about the character and the appearance of Chilean merlot, was that before the French phylloxera epidemic carmenere cuttings had been planted in Chile.

Tests revealed the scientists suspicions were correct. Remarkably Chile was free of phylloxera (and still is) and the carmenere planted in the 19th century had not only survived but thrived. Up to 50 per cent of the merlot being produced was in fact being made from the long-lost grape, thought by Chilean grapegrowers to be a clone of merlot they called merlot selection, which accounted for the unique character of the merlot that they made.

In 1998, carmenere, which is part of the cabernet family and takes its name from the colour of the leaves on the vine in autumn ( crimson, or carmin in French) was officially recognised by the Chilean Department of Agriculture as a distinct variety. It was bad news given the popularity of merlot at the time, but it presented Chilean producers with an opportunity to develop a smooth and spicy, often floral red with plummy, berried sometimes cherried fruit flavours as their signature variety, as the Argentinians hadwith malbec.

The result is that Chile now stands virtually alone in the production of carmenere, particularly as a single-variety wine or blended with cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Smaller quantities are, however, also produced in Italy, where it was for years regarded as cabernet franc; in the United States; and a very small quantity by Ransom Wines at Matakana, north of Auckland, where until tests proved otherwise, it was also thought to be cabernet franc.

Ransom's soft and savoury 2006 version (about $28) is available from the winery while some of those from Chile (including two best buys from Cuisine magazine's recent under $25 red tasting) can, or will be, found in wine shops and supermarkets or online when they are released next month.

Try these to get the juices running:

Korta Lontue Valley 2005 Barrel Selection Carmenere ($14.99)
A robust spicy, smokey, toasty wine that glides easily across the palate and has plenty of fresh and fruity flavour. Try it with corned beef.

Concha y Toro 2008 Cassilero del Diablo Reserva Carmenere (about $18)
Typically succulent and concentrated with berried flavours and a whiff of smoke and toast that suggests a pizza is the order of the day.

Missiones 2005 Cuvee Carmenere ($34.95)
Classy stuff this big fella, with a hint of violets, a lick of chocolate and leather on the nose; pure pleasure on the palate. Five stars from Britain's Decanter magazine.

Cono Sur 2008 Carmenere ($16.95)
A popular drink-young example of the variety fleshed out with a touch of cabernet sauvignon and syrah. Berried, fresh and spicy.

Santa Ines 2006 Carmenere (about $16)
Fruity, fresh and smooth with just the slightest, appealing hint of truffles on the nose. Pass the antipasto please.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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