PIONERO CARMENÈRE RESERVA

£8 lavino.co.uk

Very powerful nose! Herbs, graphite, oak, figs? Blackberry perhaps? Smells heady, like it's very alcoholic but only 13.5% Incredible depth and power. Feels very savoury (is that the oak?), fruit not obvious to me. 

From the producer:

VINEYARDThe grapes come from the Romeral Vineyard in the Maipo Valley and were picked in late April and early May. A large proportion of the soils are alluvial with the presence of gravel and a significant clay content. The vines are vertically positioned and double guyot pruned. Harvest took place in mid-April.
WINERYThe grapes were crushed and immediately fermented at up to 28C with 12 days on skins. Twenty percent of the wine was aged in fifth-use oak barrels (French and American) for six months before blending and bottling.

Seems odd that this grape has been mistaken for Merlot for so long? Can they really be that similar in their characteristics? A pure Merlot should be next. 

Lascar Carmenere 2013

My first taste of this grape variety. I read that '"Carménère" originates from the French word for crimson (carmin)' and was once grown as a blending grape in Bordeaux, as per modern day Petit Verdot.

I took a gamble on this primarily on its price (£5.75) and the positive comments from Wine Society members on their site.

What it does have in common with some Bordeaux is the nose: distinct pencil lead and earthy fruit. In fact, it smells a lot better than it tastes, although the pallet itself is decent enough: bramble, earth, medium body. Very respectable given the absurdly low price. 

Why it is mainly grown in Chile rather than France? Apparently it never recovered from Phylloxera in France. Chilean growers thought they were growing a variant of Merlot until 1994! It would be interesting to taste this alongside a 100% merlot to see if similarities are obvious.  

Dona Paulina

At £4.95 (WS) this is a fantastic example of what can be done at this end of the market. Interesting to compare it to the Navarran Sabina which is the same price. I had thought the Sabina good value but can now see it was opting for a 'safety first' approach: inoffensive but pretty thin with little discernable fruit. The Paulina has fruit in abundance but manages to stay balanced and in no way cloying.

A good reason to make further forays into Chile.

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