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Chilean Carménère – World-Class and So Hard To Choose
Is 30 years a lot of time or not, what do you think? It depends. If we compare 30 years to the approximate age of Earth at around 4 billion years, it is much smaller than a spec of dust. For a human, that’s quite a bit of time, subject to a personal perception. How about grapes?
Almost 30 years ago, in 1994, it was discovered that the Chilean Merlot grape is not exactly a Merlot. Approximately one-third of the plantings considered to be Merlot happened to be of Merlot’s almost extinct relative – the grape called Carménère. In 1994, there were only 25 acres left in France of the grape which used to be one of the important elements in the Bordeaux blend, now ready to disappear. This discovery also helped to explain the distinct taste of Chilean “Merlot”, loaded with so-called Pyrazines, the compound which leads to the pronounced green bell pepper characteristics in the wine, both in smell and taste.
Chilean winemakers gladly took ownership of the grape which they now could rightfully call “their own”, and the plantings expanded from around 9,000 acres in 1994 to almost 34,000 acres in 2014, eventually steadying at about 25,500 acres in 2021. Along the way, Chilean winemakers worked hard with this grape to literally get rid of the green bell pepper profile, creating a rounder, more fruit-forward wine. Their mission was a total success – for example, looking through the notes of my previous tasting of 7 Carménère wines 3 years ago, not a single wine had any mention of the green bell peppers. Nevertheless, it is interesting that now the pendulum has started swinging the other way, and Chilean winemakers have started thinking about bringing the green bell pepper profile back.
Nothing is instantaneous in the world of wine. Thinking about green bell pepper doesn’t mean it can elegantly show in the wine at will. At least among the 6 Carménère wines I just tasted, only one of them had a distant hint of bell peppers – but the important part was that all 6 were outright delicious. While I managed to choose a favorite, it was like splitting the hair.
Just to give you a perspective on where these 6 wines came from here is the map:
You can see here the proximity to the coast as well as get an idea of the altitude and overall terroir. While there seems to be a good variety of the terroir, all the wines were showing in a similar way – yes, with stylistic differences, but you could tell that the wines are related.
Here are my notes:
2021 Viña San Esteban In Situ Carménère Reserva Valle de Aconcagua DO (13% ABV, $13, 95% Carménère, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in for 12 months in 50% French and 50% American 225-litre oak barrels, 3+ months in the bottle) – In Situ Family Vineyards was established in 1974 by José Vicente. In 1994, the vineyards were replanted, and the modern winery was built. This certified sustainable winery produces a range of high-altitude wines in Aconagua Valley.
Dark garnet
Beautiful restrained nose of dark fruit, blackberries
Blackberries and raspberries on the palate, crisp acidity, tart, crisp, refreshing, well integrated but present tannins
8
2021 Morandé Vitis Única Carménère Valle del Maipo DO (13.5% ABV, $20, aged for 16 months in 80% in French oak foudres and 20% in new 225 liters French oak barrels) – Viña Morandé was founded in 1996, and went on to become one of the leading wine producers in Chile. The winery is truly innovative and “off-the-beaten-pass”, producing wines from Mediterranean grapes such as Cinsault, Carignan, and Garnacha, and using concrete eggs and large oak foudres for the aging of the wines. The winery was the first in Chile to produce late-harvest wine and the first in Chile to be recognized as 100% sustainable.
Dark garnet
Dark fruit, cedar, a hint of bell peppers
Tart cherries, black currant, zippy acidity, acidity on the finish.
8-/8
2020 TerraNoble CA2 Carménère Costa Valle de Colchagua DO (14.5% ABV, $36, aged 16 months, 42% in new 300-liter barrels, the rest in untoasted foudres) – TerraNoble is one of my favorite Chilean producers. I wrote extensively about TerraNoble in the past, covering particularly the full line of their Carmenere wines.
Dark Garnet, almost black
A touch of barnyard, warm spices, inviting, black currant
Bright, firm structure, cassis, distant hint of bell pepper, good balance, good acidity
8/8+
2020 InVina Luma Chequén Carménère Gran Reserva Valle del Maipo DO (13.9% ABV, $17, 12 months in oak barrels) – InVina was founded in 2007 by the Huber family and went on to become one of the premier producers in Maipo Valley
Dark garnet
Beautiful, nutmeg, sweet oak, superb. Best of tasting so far
Sophisticated, great bouquet, cassis, dark fruit, a touch of dark chocolate, excellent balance.
8+, the favorite of the tasting
2020 Primus Carménère Apalta DO (14.5% ABV, $21, organic grapes, 12 months in French oak barrels, 18% new) – Primus wines are a part of the Viñedos Veramonte, another one of my favorite Chilean producers. I also wrote about Primus Carménère wine extensively in the past, so this was one of the familiar wines in the tasting.
Dark garnet, almost black
Cassis, cassis leaf, sage, inviting, delicious
Dark, brooding, concentrated, earthy, well-integrated but present tannins, full body, needs a steak.
8+, superb on the day 3.
2020 Montes Wings Carménère Apalta DO (14.5% ABV, $55, 85% Carménère, 15% Cabernet Franc, aged for 16 months in 80% new and 20% second-use French oak barrels) – Feng Shui, Gregorian monks chants helping wines age – we can talk about Montes Winery forever. Instead, I will offer you to read my interview with the Founder and Chief Winemaker of Montes Winery Aurelio Montes Sr – here are Part 1 and Part 2 of our conversation.
Dark garnet, almost black
Sage, a hint of cassis, earthy
Bright, elegant, dark fruit, fresh acidity, seeet oak, eucalyptus, layered, luscious.
8+, as good as Luma
Here you are, my friends. Six excellent Carménère wines, making it very difficult to select a favorite. I settled on Luna Carménère Gran Reserva, but honestly, every one of these six are world-class wines I would be happy to drink any day. Do you have your favorite Carménère wines?
The Land Whispers… You Just Need To Listen
I love wine dinners. Especially the wine dinners with the winemaker.
I dread wine dinners. Especially the wine dinners with the winemaker.
I know, I don’t make much sense at the moment. Wine dinners are wonderful, and I really do love them. The dreadful part comes from the experience of not being able to write about those wine dinners in a timely fashion. “Timely fashion”, huh – there are wine dinners I never wrote about in 5 years and such memories can hunt you down – they definitely do for me. I don’t know why this is happening on a regular basis – the elation often experienced during open and engaging conversations about wine becomes an ephemeral spirit, woefully resistful and easily escaping the slightest attempt to capture it in the form of words…
Let’s see if I will be able to break my unsettling tradition.
Last week I had a wonderful time and experience tasting the wines of Viñedos Veramonte and speaking with Gonzalo Bertelsen, General Manager and Head Winemaker in a small group of wine lovers, around the dinner table at the Monterey Brasserie in New York. The conversation topics were ranging from low-alcohol wines (is that really a trend? Are people really asking for it or is that just a gimmick?) to the production of organic and biodynamic wines to “why Germans don’t want to drink organic wines from Chile” (I will not tell you why but you are welcome to guess) and to many other far and between. But most importantly we got to enjoy Viñedos Veramonte wines with and without the food.
Viñedos Veramonte was one of the first wineries in the Casablanca region, founded in 1990 by Agustin Huneeus, a Chilean wine pioneer. From the very beginning, the winery embraced organic viticulture – and more recently, the winery spent more than 6 years making estate vineyards officially organic certified, obtaining ECOCERT® organic certification, one of the most respected in the world. The project involved the conversion of more than 1,200 acres of vineyards in Casablanca and Colchagua valleys to organic and biodynamic farming, with the aim to also become fully Demeter’s biodynamic certified – which requires making changes in the winery, not only in the vineyard – plus importers also have to be biodynamic certified.
Viñedos Veramonte produces 4 distinct lines of wines – Veramonte, Ritual, Primus, and Neyen – all from organic grapes, of course. We had an opportunity to taste wines from all 4 lines.
We started with the 2022 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Reserva Casablanca Valley ($13.99 SRP). This wine has one of the biggest productions, and it is very important for Veramonte. Preserving freshness is paramount, so special care is taken to prevent any oxidation of the grapes and juice, and the wine is bottled as soon as possible. The wine was herbaceous and crisp, delicious on its own but also nicely supporting our first course – Grande Plateau of seafood containing oysters, clams, tuna tartare, and lobster. The Sauvignon Blanc pairing with the oysters was the best – and the oysters were delicious, probably my favorite component of the Grand Plateau.
Next, we moved on to the 2019 Ritual Chardonnay Casablanca Valley ($20.99 SRP, fermented in oak barrels and concrete tanks). I wrote about Ritual wines many times, last time only a few months ago – the wines are consistently delicious. The wine was paired with a choice of appetizer – crispy artichokes or barbecued prawns. I selected crispy artichokes, forgetting that artichokes are notoriously difficult to be paired with wine. The dish was delicious on its own, and the wine was also good – on its own.
We also tried the 2020 Primus Carmenere Apalta DO ($20.99 SRP) with our appetizer course. The wine was excellent and had a nice profile of cassis supported by the bell peppers, showing off the pyrazines. Some of the winemakers are trying to prevent the pyrazines from showing up by changing growing conditions, harvesting regime and more – but I personally enjoy the pyrazines’ flavor very much, it adds to the authenticity of the wine. While Carmenere was still not a perfect match for the artichokes, it offered a bit better pairing than the Chardonnay.
Now we were ready for the main course, and the new wine arrived.
Last December I had an opportunity to try for the first time yet another Veramonte wine called Neyen. Neyen vineyards are located on a small parcel of land situated between the Andes Mountains and the Coastal Range. Neyen wines are literally always a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Carmenere, both coming from truly the old vines – Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted in 1889, joined by Carmenere in 1936, which makes the vines respectively 134 and 87 years old.
In the local dialect, Neyen means “whisper”. The land whispers, you only need to listen to her – low intervention is what the Neyen winemakers practice. And this is the whisper you can taste.
The wine literally stopped me in my tracks. You know that stupid smile that you can’t control when something good is happening? This was my face upon the first whiff of the 2003 Neyen Espíritu de Apalta Apalta DO ($N/A) – the first vintage of Neyen wine ever produced. The time stopped – there was only the endless pleasure of aromatics that only mature wine can bring.
Time, wait. Don’t move. I’m still enjoying it. Please, just a few more moments.
Cassis and eucalyptus on the nose. Cassis and eucalyptus on the palate, silky smooth, perfectly integrated tannins, full body of the mature wine at its absolute peak, pleasure slowly descending layer after layer. This is the case where the words are clearly insufficient to describe the joy of the oenophile, but I hope I offered at least a glimpse.
For the main course, I selected Bluefin Tuna au Poivre with baby beets and citrus sauce – and to my delight, the 2003 Neyen offered a perfect pairing, elevating every bite of the food.
We also had the 2016 Neyen, Espíritu de Apalta Apalta DO ($N/A). Tasting 2016 after 2003 was somewhat of a mistake. 2016 is an excellent wine, but the beautiful core we were able to experience in 2003 was still covered by layers of baby fat, the wine showing a lot richer, almost jammy on the first sip, and in need of time to open up.
The culmination point of our evening, though, was … a bit unexpectedly, as we are talking about Chilean wines … the Malbec. 2019 Neyen Espíritu de Apalta Malbec Apalta DO ($149.99 SRP). 2016 was the first released vintage of this super low-intervention wine – harvested and destemmed by hand, fermented in small tanks, no machines, no electricity used in the production of this wine, aging only in 3rd and 4th use French oak barrels. This is the crown jewel of the Veramonte Neyen collection – even James Suckling agrees, rating this wine at 100 points. Only 200 cases of the wine were produced in 2019, with the US allocation standing at 40 cases.
The main word I would use to describe this wine would be “elegant”. The wine was showing beautiful eucalyptus notes, a lot leaner than most of the Argentinian Malbecs, begging comparison with old world Malbec, the Cahors. Elegant, layered, delicious.
And this, my friends, brings us to the end of the wonderful evening. The company was great, the food was excellent, the wines were amazing.
Mother Nature whispers, and good things happen when we listen. I wish I had a case of this 2003 Neyen Espiritu de Apalta – that would really make me happy. Well, we generally don’t get to have all the things we want – and I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience such wines at least once.
Veramonte wines offer a great selection for every budget and every palate – check them out when you will have a chance. Cheers!
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