Notes from the Panel Archives - Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

What to Expect in August 2024

August 20, 2024 by Don Lahey

In August, The International Wine of the Month Club’s Premier Series is proud to offer four exceptional wines from around the world, beginning with the 2019 Van Ardi Estate Red Blend. This exceptional blend provides testimony to Armenia’s historic preeminence with wine, adding further credence to the understanding that in the 21^st century fine wine emanates from places far and wide. The deeply colored 2019 Van Ardi Estate Red Blend offers an entrancing bouquet redolent with the scents of baked blackberry and plum dusted with cacao. In the mouth, smooth and rich berry flavors sprinkled with chocolate ganache and deft touches of cedar, sandalwood and vanilla flow on a river of ripe, racy tannins to gratify the palate. Pleasantly dry, seamless, and hauntingly complex Van Ardi’s 2019 Estate Red Blend comes across in body and style as an exceedingly well-crafted Bordeaux or Cabernet-based wine with a certain extra Je ne sais quoi. Enjoy!

Our next Premier Series feature is the aromatic and juicy 2022 Val des Rois Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc. The hard-harvested 2022 Val des Rois Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc from organically grown grapes offers a pure, sensuous bouquet of white flowers, exotic fruits, and jasmine with a refreshing citrus twist. In the mouth, this comely white wine caresses the palate with floral tones and mineral notes infused with exotic fruit flavors. Refreshing acidity imparts great palate appeal and a mouthwatering finish – all of which made us literally beg for more. Enjoy the lovely 2022 Val des Rois Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc now and often. A Vôtre Santé!

Next in August’s world tour of wine is the 2022 Costers del Sió Celistia Tempranillo/Syrah – a wine that is best described as succulent and deliciously lip-smacking. This is a wine for all seasons that is downright hard to put down. The 2022 Costers del Sió Celistia Tempranillo/Syrah debuts with a brilliant purple robe and amplifying aromatics: heady scents of ripe cherry and raspberry leap from the glass tinged with delectable traces of cinnamon and vanilla. Sporting a superb texture and plenty of forest berry flavors, a hint of rain washed woodlands, and a touch of exotic spice, the 2022 Celistia Tempranillo/Syrah quickly ingratiates itself to the palate, filling the mouth and flowing seamlessly across the tongue before disappearing down the throat. Purity, suavity and a vibrant finish make the 2022 Celistia Tempranillo/Syrah a true joy to drink. Enjoy!

Completing this month’s Premier Series is the bright, eye-catching, and thoroughly seductive 2023 Château Sainte Eulalie Printemps d’Eulalie. Redolent with the scents of ripe strawberries, raspberries, melons, and herbs, one is immediately enchanted. Moreover, the 2023 Printemps d’Eulalie offers juicy berry flavors that fill the mouth, a sense of elegance, and a fresh, racy finish that delights the palate and slakes the thirsty throat. As another crowd pleaser from this premier estate, the 2023 Château Sainte Eulalie Printemps d’Eulalie captures in every sip the savory scents and flavors of southern France. Drink this flavorful rosé early, often, and throughout the year. Salut!

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Collectors Series is delighted to reveal three special wines this August. Headlining this month’s portfolio is the 2016 Cyan Prestigio Tinta de Toro Reserva, a quintessential Tempranillo from Toro Zamora, a region known for rich, complex red wines. The 2016 Cyan Prestigio Tinta de Toro Reserva is one big, bold, powerful potion. Sporting a deep impenetrable color and redolent with the scents of dark cherry, plum, and aromatic herbs, the 2016 Cyan Prestigio makes a statement from the moment it wafts from the glass. It is, also, highly extracted, intense on the palate, and burnished with 18 months of ageing in French and American oak barrels. Sumptuous flavors of black fruits, garrigue, and vanilla oak emerge in the mouth. Hints of sandalwood, spice and vanilla meld with the wine’s black fruits to enliven the palate. Each sip reveals richer fruit flavors and additional nuances of flavor, which explode on the wine’s long, lengthy finish. Enjoy now and for years to come.

Our next August Collectors Series offering is Emile Beyer’s 2022 Eguisheim Mosaïque, a thrilling wine that combines the best of Riesling and Pinot Gris in one knockout blend that is nothing short of enthralling. Radiating a crystalline sun-kissed brilliance and proffering an intoxicating bouquet of citrus, exotic fruits, and spices, the 2022 Emile Beyer Eguisheim Mosaïque had us even before the first sip. Add pristine fruit, a glimpse of exotica, laser-like precision, and a racy minerality that fills the mouth and we couldn’t put Mosaïque down. Each sip reveals another facet of this intriguing offering. A Vôtre Santé!

Rounding out this month’s Collectors Series is the smooth, bursting with flavor, and wonderfully intriguing 2020 Castell del Remei Oda. Castell del Remei combines the best of Spain and France in this delicious red blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Syrah, and Merlot. Floral, fruit, and woodsy aromas meld with a light touch of sandalwood to delight the nose. Although still youthful and carrying 15% ABV, the 2020 Castell del Remei Oda opens nicely in the glass, exhibiting suavity and great mouth appeal to complement the wine’s distinctive fruit and wood flavors. In the mouth, red and black fruits, vanilla, and hints of clove caress the palate. Elegance and complexity merge in the 2020 Castell del Remei Oda, providing both joy and intrigue from start to finish. Enjoy!

Armenia: Back to the Future

August 15, 2024 by Don Lahey

Fine wines emanate from far and wide. No one country or wine region has a monopoly on quality wines, though only one country, Armenia, can rightly claim to be the birthplace of wine. Even more importantly, Armenia, has consistently fashioned quality wine longer than anywhere else on earth. In spite of centuries of domination by larger neighbors and genocidal attempts to extinguish Armenia and its people, Armenia is alive and well and so are its wines. And nowhere is wine more important and its land more suitable for the cultivation of the vine than Armenia.

Located in the Caucasus Mountains between Asia and Europe, Armenia is the site of the Earth’s oldest winemaking facility, the Areni-1 cave complex. Recently unearthed, the 6,100-year-old caves contain definitive archaeological evidence of advanced winemaking, including the possible use of sulfur as a preservative. Moreover, archeological excavations carried out in the 1940s reveal that as early as the first millennium B.C. during the Kingdom of Van, present day Armenia was western Asia’s leading wine producing region. Longer than anywhere else on earth, Armenia has continuously produced fine wine from indigenous grape varieties, a practice that continues, allowing Armenia to again attract the world’s attention for its venerable wines.

Once again, Armenia’s ancient red and white indigenous grape varieties dominate the country’s fine wine production with Areni, Haghtanak, Milagh, Khatoun Kharj, Tozot, and Voskehat all making a comeback. These grapes whose names are difficult for outsiders to pronounce remain relatively unknown outside of Armenia, yet they rightly deserve recognition beyond their native land. Taste and enjoy!

Salud!
Don

What to Look for in July 2024

July 15, 2024 by Don Lahey

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Premier Series is pleased to offer four exceptional wines in July from four countries in both hemispheres. Leading this month’s features is the 2020 Domaine Chamfort Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Sablet La Pause from Vasco Perdigao, one of the Rhône Valley’s consummate craftsmen. The 2020 Domaine Chamfort La Pause is the scion of a superb vintage in the Southern Rhône. It hails from the appellation’s two prime red varietals: Grenache and Syrah from the picturesque, sun-splashed hills surrounding the picturesque village of Sablet. Deep in color and rich in flavor, this polished wine offers up a juicy and enticing aroma redolent with raspberry, black cherry, and savory spice notes. In the mouth, woodland berries and violets, lightly dusted with Provencal herbs and a hint of black pepper, grace the palate – all bolstered by suavely textured tannins that glide across the tongue. Domaine Chamfort’s 2020 La Pause is no ordinary Côtes-du-Rhône. It possesses great purity and reflects Sablet’s special terroir as well as Vasco Perdigao’s penchant for organic viticulture and minimal intervention in winemaking. Enjoy!

Our next Premier Series feature is the crystalline 2023 Silver Sands Robertson Sauvignon Blanc, a wine that more than brings its welcome from the moment it is poured. Selected from the best parcels planted on the slopes of nearby mountains and harvested in the early morning hours, the 2023 Silver Sands Sauvignon Blanc offers an entrancing aroma of citrus blossoms, tropical fruit, and limestone, the latter imparting texture in the form of a gentle minerality. In the mouth, juicy tropical fruit flavors meld with touches of wild herbs and freshly mown spring grass. Precise and endowed with a healthy dose of racy acidity, the 2023 Silver Sands Sauvignon Blanc exits with panache, eliciting a long and satisfying finish. Enjoy!

Next among this month’s diverse quartet is the violet colored, highly aromatic 2021 Franklin Tate Estates Margaret River Shiraz, a delicious red that greets the nose with a sensuous perfume. Redolent with the scents of ripe red cherries and plums, lilac, and violet flowers, this Rhône-style Shiraz/Syrah had us from the first draught of its heavenly scent. In the mouth, the wine’s silky fruit and floral flavors continue to tantalize the palate. Gently layered and subtly complex, the medium-bodied 2021 Franklin Tate Estates Margaret River Shiraz slowly, almost methodically, unfolds its wealth of flavors. Unlike many of the brawny Australian Shiraz wines from hotter, drier locales, the tannins in this Margaret River beauty come across as sleek and soft to conjure a long, lovely finish. Enjoy!

Rounding out July’s Premier Series portfolio is the charming and succulent 2020 SJ Montigny Kreuznacher Riesling Kabinett. This highly rated wine (92 Points – Wine Enthusiast) is a joy to sniff, savor, and drink with abandon. As a bright, fruit-forward Riesling, it offers an intoxicating aroma of apricots, ripe and juicy tangerines, candied cherries, and a hint of bergamot. Light and lovely in the mouth, it graces the palate with beautiful fruit flavors and a soft touch of sweetness. The wine’s slight sweetness is imbued with a pleasant citrus twist, which provides wonderful balance and an invigorating, lingering finish. Each sip of the spry, seductive 2020 SJ Montigny Kreuznacher Riesling brings a new revelation as the wine unfolds gracefully in the glass. Prost!

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Collectors Series is proud to offer three exceptional wines again this month, beginning with David Finlayson’s 2020 Camino Africana Stellenbosch Cabernet Franc. Finlayson has created a delicious full-bodied Cabernet Franc, thanks to minimal filtration and little or no fining. Deep in color and redolent in the nose and mouth with blackberry, blackcurrant, cedar, and dark chocolate flavors, the 2020 Camino Africana Cabernet Franc quickly seduces the senses with its bold fruit, juicy tannins, and suave texture – all of which graciously keep on giving. The product of non-interventionist winemaking, David Finlayson’s 2020 Camino Africana Cabernet Franc is a tour de force for the outstanding, yet underappreciated, Cabernet Franc varietal. Although still in its youth, this impeccably balanced Cabernet Franc drinks beautifully now and should offer additional complexity and drinking pleasure for the remainder of the decade. Enjoy!

Our next July Collectors Series offering is the 2022 Domaine Gilles Noblet Mâcon-Fuissé, a superb, hedonistic white Burgundy, which exhibits the vintage’s alluring seduction. The 2022 Domaine Gilles Noblet Mâcon-Fuissé offers superb ripeness along with the energy and precision that always make Noblet’s wines both immensely compelling and highly sought after. The 2022 Gilles Noblet Mâcon-Fuissé radiates a brilliant glint of sunshine, which recalls the rows of golden clusters of Chardonnay grapes that mature slowly under the Mâconnais sun in what is the prettiest and warmest part of Burgundy. Floral notes of acacia, forsythia, hawthorn, and pear greet the nose. Yet, it is in the mouth that the 2022 Domaine Gilles Noblet Mâcon-Fuissé truly begins to spread its wings and work its seductive magic in the form of gentle, pure fruit flavors, pinpoint precision, and a delightfully refreshing mineral-driven acidity, which graciously ties everything all together. Fresh, nuanced and eminently drinkable as always, Gilles Noblet’s 2022 Mâcon-Fuissé is a delight to drink now, yet it will continue to develop in bottle for at least two more years. Enjoy!

Completing this month’s Collectors Series is the 2018 Viña Alicia Lujan de Cuyo Morena, a suave, sophisticated Bordeaux blend that combines Old World charm with New World flavors and structure. Savory scents of baking spices, blueberry, and cassis quickly greet the nose, while the wine’s layered berry flavors infused with crushed violets, cedar, and vanilla tantalize the palate. Soft tannins and spritely acidity carry Morena’s beautiful fruit and woodland flavors through to a long, lingering, and satisfying finish. Enjoy this seductive wine now and often!

The Rhône Valley: The Home of Extraordinary Red, White, and Rosé Wines

July 11, 2024 by Don Lahey

Wine lovers need look no further than France’s Rhône Valley for a cornucopia of extraordinary red, white, and rosé wines. The region, as well as the region’s wines, are named after the Rhône River which makes a hasty exit from Switzerland’s Lac Leman, better known to Americans as Lake Geneva, and cuts a swift path through southern France to the Mediterranean Sea. The Rhône is not only the source of many of France’s greatest wines, it also lays claim to being a bargain hunter’s paradise.

The wine growing region of the Rhône Valley begins just south of Lyon around the city of Vienne and terminates far south, near Aix-en-Provence. The length of the river allows for two quite distinct wine producing sub-regions in the Rhône Valley; one north and the other south. In the Northern Rhône, one finds granite and gneiss based soils, coupled with a continental climate. Here, Syrah is king of the cultivars, where it reigns as the only permitted red variety. The Northern Rhône is home to such illustrious wines as Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, and Saint Joseph among others. Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier are the permitted white grape varieties in the Northern Rhône. The red wines of the Northern Rhône tend to be highly structured and firm, and often capable of great aging, while the region’s white wines are hauntingly aromatic and most enjoyable in their youth.

The Southern Rhône sub-region announces a warmer Mediterranean climate with substantially varied terroirs. Here alluvium, sand, limestone, marl, pebbles, and large flat stones known as galets predominate. Grenache is the dominant red variety, but there is an incredible wealth of supporting cultivars used for blending, among them Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, and Carignan. The wines of the Southern Rhône are often aromatic and beautifully perfumed, juicy, supple in texture and endowed with considerable weight. Red wines dominate the production in the Southern Rhône. Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Cairanne, Rasteau, Sablet and Côtes-du-Rhône are the names to look for, but one should not discount the wonderful rosé and white wines that increasingly flow from the Southern Rhône. Grenache remains the mainstay for rosé, while Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier yield the region’s finest white wines.

The Best Summertime Wines

June 15, 2024 by Don Lahey

Following the first very warm days of Spring the proverbial query “What’s a great summertime wine?” is the true harbinger of summer. The answer, however, depends on many factors. In an ideal world the answer will be the wine in your glass, which both refreshes and delights. That of course depends as much on personal preference and experiences as the temperature of the wine.

White wine and rosé wines come to most people’s minds by default because they are served chilled. Until recently, Chardonnay dominated the white wine scene and reigned as “the white wine for all seasons.” Although Chardonnay remains the planet’s most ubiquitous white grape variety, and French Chablis the ultimate summertime Chardonnay, there are now many other great summertime wines from which to choose. Sauvignon Blanc with its crisp herbal edge and refreshing acidity gets two thumbs up, and there is a lot more to Sauvignon Blanc than New Zealand’s grapefruit bombs. Chile and South Africa turn out splendid Sauvignon Blancs, too, in a myriad of styles with Chilean wineries Casas del Bosque and Casa Silva as well as South Africa’s Groot Constantia fashioning exceptional Sauvignon Blancs. France, the home of Sauvignon Blanc, continues to fashion wonderful examples. Sancerre and the Loire Valley are notable for this quintessential varietal, while Bordeaux offers a dizzying array of pleasurable summertime drinking with white wines from 100% Sauvignon Blanc to blends containing Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle.

Chenin Blanc is also attracting serious consideration as a summertime favorite. Vouvray Sec, the quintessential dry Chenin Blanc, from France’s Loire Valley, makes a wonderful warm weather companion. Racauderie Gautier and Vigneau-Chevreau are two reliable high quality Vouvray producers, whose wines are widely available. Chenin Blanc is also South Africa’s leading white grape variety with many exceptional examples on the market. Mary-Lou Nash’s Black Pearl Chenin Blanc is one of the finest and easiest to appreciate with a moderate chill.

Increasingly, crisp Italian white wines such as the 3 V’s: Verdicchio, Vermentino, and Vernaccia di San Gimignano are gaining ground as summertime favorites. Colpaola’s Verdicchio di Matelica, Aia Vecchia’s Vermentino Costa Toscana, and Fontaleoni and Tenuta Le Calcinaie’s Vernaccia di San Gimignano will again be in my glass this summer because there is no oak, smoke, or mirrors in these wines, only fresh natural flavors that quench the thirst, please the palate, and refresh the soul.

And what would summer be like without an invigorating glass of rosé? No longer is Provence the only source of delicious rosé. Throughout France, California, Chile, Italy, Spain, South Africa, and elsewhere tasty, thirst quenching rosé wines abound. However, white and rosé wines are not the only summertime wines. While I fire up the grill and enjoy a glass of a splendid white or rosé, I will open a snappy red, cooled to 55°-60° F. Beaujolais, California Zinfandel, Argentine Bonarda, and a host of Mediterranean reds also make great summertime wines with almost anything that emanates from the grill. So what’s on your summertime wine list? Enjoy!

What to Look for in June 2024

June 5, 2024 by Don Lahey

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Premier Series is pleased to offer four exceptional wines in June from south of the equator. Leading this month’s Premier Series is the highly acclaimed 2022 La Posta Bonarda (92 Points – Descorchados), a wine that immediately captures the eye with its crystalline brilliance and intense ruby red color. However, what’s most impressive is the wine’s flamboyant aroma, a delightful mélange of crushed red raspberries, sandalwood, and dark chocolate. The newly released 2022 La Posta Armando Bonarda continues to impress in the mouth with rich berry flavors, smoky spice tones, and juicy mouthwatering acidity, which dances across the tongue before exiting with a delightful and refreshing flourish. The wine’s racy, hedonistic style and seamless structure make it an ideal wine to drink cool over the next several years, but there is no need to wait. Enjoy!

Our next Premier Series feature is the delightful 2022 Black Pearl Swartland Chenin Blanc from Mary-Lou Nash. A true crowd pleaser, the 2022 Black Pearl Chenin Blanc offers a fresh and sensuous bouquet of red Anjou pears, stone fruits, and lime zest. The wine’s enticing fruit aromas carry through in the mouth and meld beautifully with the wine’s racy, refreshing acidity. Precise and laser-like in focus, the 2022 Black Pearl Chenin Blanc caresses the senses and slakes the thirst. Moreover, every sip seems to reveal an additional aromatic delight and an appealing subtlety. Enjoy this Chenin Blanc with multiple 90 Point ratings now and often.

Next in this month’s quartet is the 2021 Mendel Lujan de Cuyo Cabernet Sauvignon (93 Points – Tim Atkin; 92 Points – Robert Parker; 92 Points – Vinous) from Roberto de la Mota, one of the planet’s greatest winemakers. Harvested from the estate’s premier, high elevation vineyards and matured in 100% oak barrels for 12 months, the 2021 Mendel Lujan de Cuyo Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits amplifying aromatics and bold beautiful flavors. Blackberry, cassis, and dark chocolate flavors flow on a bed of ripe, racy tannins. Add deft touches of spice and well-integrated oak tones to the wine’s pure ripe berry tones and this Cabernet fills the mouth, before finishing with real panache. Enjoy!

Rounding out June’s Premier Series portfolio is the 2022 Groot Constantia Western Cape Sauvignon Blanc, a classic blend of 93% Sauvignon Blanc and 7% Semillon. Bearing a bright sun splashed color and fragrant with the scents of lemon zest, passion fruit, gooseberry, and guava, the 2022 Groot Constantia Sauvignon Blanc pleases from the moment it is poured. The wine’s intoxicating aroma re-emerges in the mouth, offering a complex mélange of guava, gooseberry, citrus, melon, and passion fruit to complement a zesty minerality. Boldly flavored but impeccably balanced, the fresh and racy 2022 Groot Constantia Sauvignon Blanc tantalizes the taste buds with its snappy fruit flavors and crisp refreshing minerality. Enjoy this delicious Sauvignon Blanc moderately chilled (40°-45° F) now and for as long as you can get your hands on it, for this is truly one of the world’s finest Sauvignon Blancs.

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Collectors Series is proud to offer three exceptional wines again in June, beginning with the highly touted 2021 Luca Old Vine Uco Valley Mendoza Malbec (94 Points – James Suckling; 93 Points – Wine Spectator; 93 Points – Vinous) from Argentina’s first family of Malbec. Aromatic and seductive, Luca’s 2021 Old Vine Malbec offers a cornucopia of savory scents and flavors: blackberry, cherry, cacao, and violets mingle with sensuous spice tones and rich dark chocolate. The wine’s delectable aromatics follow through in the mouth, offering layers of savory dark berry, chocolate, and intoxicating spice tones. Savory, complex, and long in the finish with a hauntingly beautiful patina of vanilla oak, the 2021 Luca Old Vine Malbec is a very polished, balanced Malbec. A clear standout, this acclaimed wine may again be named “Malbec of the Year.” Enjoy!

Our next June Collectors Series offering is the 2022 Albert Bichot Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis. This brilliant Chablis wears an inviting, bright, sun-splashed color, while fresh scents of spring flowers, white peach, citrus, and oyster shells greet the nose. Moreover, this comely Chablis delivers on the palate with the appellation’s refreshing telltale flavors: a delightful mélange of white flowers, flint, lemon zest, and a faint but beckoning scent of the sea born of Chablis’s Kimmeridgian soil. Sensuous and intriguing, the youthful 2022 Bichot Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis finishes with panache. Enjoy!

Completing this month’s Collectors Series is the suave, sophisticated, and knockout delicious 2015 Château Sainte Eulalie Minervois La Livinière Grand Vin, a wine that leaves no doubt as to the Coustals’ acumen and why La Livinière was designated the first Languedoc Cru. From the moment this hedonistic delight exits the bottle, the wine’s deep and impenetrable purple robe beckons the taster. Savory scents of ripe blackberry, cherry, and plum along with a cache of exotic spices greet the nose and grace the palate. In the glass, the 2015 Château Sainte Eulalie Grand Vin unfolds gracefully, filling the mouth first with seductive berry and fruit flavors, followed by hints of chocolate and sandalwood that emerge in the mid-palate. All that the 2015 Château Sainte Eulalie Minervois La Livinière Grand Vin has to offer is carried on the smoothest, silkiest tannins. Enjoy!

Carmenère: Greater Than Ever and Still Undervalued

April 15, 2024 by Don Lahey

Carmenère, one of Bordeaux’s oldest grape varietals and Chile’s emblematic grape, continues to outperform its South American rivals. However, it rarely receives the recognition in North America that it deserves and remains undervalued, which makes it a boon to savvy consumers. Of all South American wines, Carmenère clearly stands out as the most distinctive and enjoyable, especially when consumed in the first five years of life, which is when the vast majority of all wines are consumed. Even more impressive, well-made Carmenères age gracefully to perfection for up to a decade or more in bottle. Increasingly, critics and writers sing the praises of Carmenère, especially from top producers such as Casa Silva, Casas del Bosque, Carmen, and Errazuriz, and every time we serve a Carmenère at a tasting or share it with friends, it’s a hit with red wine drinkers, both young and old. When asked why they don’t drink more Carmenère, the usual retorts still sound something like these: “I didn’t know what it was” or “I never had one before, so I was afraid to try it.” Adam should have exercised a bit more caution when handed the apple, but when it comes to wine, we implore you to be more adventuresome, courageous, even audacious!

Why hasn’t Carmenère taken the wine world by storm? For one, Carmenère is close to being the missing link of Bordeaux varietals, and it has only been since the 1980’s that DNA testing ascertained that Chile’s distinctive red grape is indeed Carmenère. Carmenère’s origins go back many centuries, and it is still one of the six legal red Bordeaux grape varietals for Classified Bordeaux. Carmenère, like Malbec, figured prominently in Bordeaux until the advent of phylloxera in the 19^th century. However, post phylloxera, the prolific, earlier ripening Merlot became Bordeaux’s dominant varietal followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Brought to Chile in the 19^th century before the dreaded vine disease, phylloxera, Carmenère was mistaken for a clone of Merlot until the 1980’s. This surely accounts for Carmenère languishing for so long in relative obscurity, though it’s hard to believe that one of Bordeaux’s six legal red grape varietals could be misidentified for so long; but then the truth is nearly always stranger than fiction. Political and economic instability in Chile until the 1990’s is another reason Carmenère is a relative late comer to our shores. Lastly, some of the first Carmenère wines sent to the US were under-ripe and not all indicative of what this premium grape is capable of being.

So, what does Carmenère have going for it? Plenty! Let’s start with Carmenère’s deep purple color, followed by a hedonistic aroma: savory red and black fruit flavors, deft touches of bell pepper, black pepper, dark chocolate, coffee and spice. But, best of all, Carmenère’s tannins are smoother than those of Cabernet Sauvignon and its Bordeaux compatriots. Most of all, people enjoy it, especially after it’s had a few minutes to breathe. The only caveat with Carmenère is this: never judge a Carmenère on first sip. Any good Carmenère needs at least a few minutes of aeration to undergo metamorphosis and blossom in the glass. Yet, one doesn’t have to wait years to enjoy this varietal. Just allow Carmenère a little time in the glass to collect itself, and enjoy!

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