There are just some grapes that have a story. Carménère is one of those grapes. Originally one of the six Bordeaux varieties, Carménère was once thought to be extinct, only to be rediscovered in Chile. The grapes were imported from France into Chile, and were often confused with Merlot. Most of the Carménère in France was wiped out during the Phylloxera plague. You will most often still find Carménère from Chile, although it is produced in other places.
The bottle that I'm drinking is a 2006 Santa Alicia Carménère that I bought on sale at World Market. Generally this wine goes for somewhere around $8-$10 a bottle. The alcohol content on this wine is listed as 14%.
When I first pour this into the glass, I get a little bit of a funky smell, possibly even a tad on the poopy side. As it airs out a bit the funkiness wears off a bit, and I get more of a cedar smell, cherries, some chocolate, and a little bit of leather. I'm also getting just a touch of boysenberry wafting from the glass. The first sip hits me with a little bit of a bitter raisin flavor, and some tobacco and nuts. This wine has some nice smooth tannins.
The Santa Alicia Carménère is actually a fairly complex wine for $8. It's a little shy at first, but after some decanting and swirling, it gives you some really interesting aromas and flavors. I really enjoy the tobacco and leather components in this wine. I wouldn't say that there is anything amazing about this wine, but it is definitely worth a try, especially if you can find it for eight bucks. If I was going to be more exact with my ratings, I would probably actually put this one as a 3.5. I think this is somewhere on the stronger end of the "Worth a Try" rating.
Legend – Skip it
Meh
Worth a Try
Give it a Go
Run Get Some
I love your writing. I get all the info I want in about 500 words. Great backstory for wine beginners on Carmenere. Sounds interesting enough to try. I’d be curious how ‘poopy’ it was on day two (if there was any left)
Josh
Thanks Josh. I try not to be too wordy with the reviews. I figure most people just want the facts about the wine in a review, and not a flowery essay. I appreciate the kind feedback.
The poopiness really didn’t seem to be much of a factor on day two. I think it mellowed out quite a bit once it had been open a while. Even on the first day I didn’t feel like it was overwhelming. I think it was about the right amount of funk. I definitely think that it is worth a try, especially given the price. Not going to hurt the wallet too much.
Congrats on Grape #19! I’ve been on my path to the Wine Century Club since 2008, and have totally dogged it! Keep on track, and dont be like me. I’ve got 40 more to go, and am attacking it with a renewed passion.
Carmenere is a favorite grape of mine, and actually among the first red wines I had ever had. I love the flavors, and of course, the value that it offers. South America offers great QPR wines, and I’ve been fortunate enough to taste quite a number of them from Chile in the past year. There are some spectacular buys out there, like the one you seem to have found, as well as some great wine at a little bit higher price.
Check out Los Vascos Reserve, which here in FL we find in some Grocery Stores. It’s about $20 or so, but a great wine that definitely offers a tad more than other $20 wines. Give it a good 30-60 minutes of decanting to open up, and pair it with a nice steak, and let me know yours thoughts!
Cheers
Matt
Thanks for the comment Matt. I just started working on the Wine Century Club a few months ago. I could technically add a few more varieties to my list, as there are some that I have tried but not reviewed yet, but I thought it would be fun to chronicle my way through the list. I’m having a lot of fun, and I think it’s a great way to expose yourself to new wines.
I agree, Carmenere gives you some great value options. You are right about South American wines in general. There is a lot of value to be found in Chilean wines.
I will definitely track down the Los Vascos Reserve. I really enjoy finding wines that supply good value at the $20 price point. I think I’ll take your suggestion on the steak too.
Is this the good memories (for me) wine? If so, I really liked it. But I’m probably a bit of an oddball in that I tend to like/remember wine for personal reasons, not objective ones. Case in point: I’m constantly asking you, “Is this wine we drank – at my birthday, when we watched Lost Season 1 Disk 3, that night Karyn came over for dinner last minute, etc. If it is “Good Memories” wine, I love the tobacco aftertaste it left