Carmenere

The Carménère grape is a wine grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France. Now rarely found in France, the world's largest area planted with this variety is in Chile in South America, with more than 8,800 hectares (2009) cultivated in the Central Valley. Carménère is also grown in Italy's Eastern Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions and in smaller quantities in the California and Walla Walla regions of the United States. As such, Chile produces the vast majority of Carménère wines available today and as the Chilean wine industry grows, more experimentation is being carried out on Carménère's potential as a blending grape. Carménère wine has a deep red color and aromas found in red fruits, spices and berries. Although mostly used as a blending grape, wineries do bottle a pure varietal Carménère which, when produced from grapes at optimal ripeness, imparts a cherry-like, fruity flavor with smoky, spicy and earthy notes and a deep crimson color. Its taste might also be reminiscent of dark chocolate, tobacco, and leather. The wine is best to drink while it is young.