How Carmenere Embodies Chilean Vinicultural History

Carmenere represents a fundamentally Chilean phenomenon. The country often gets lumped into the “New World” when describing its wine production and style, but this only tells part of the story. Chile, and much of South America, had its wine making evolve in parallel with Europe, as grapes were planted there as far back as the 16th century. As a result, many winemaking practices, traditions, and grapes that came from Europe stuck around and morphed over the years. 

Carmenere is the greatest example of this. Originally brought over in the mid 1800s, this once prominent grape in Bordeaux lost both its connection with France, and its name. Over time, it became ubiquitous in Chile, lovingly referred to as the “spicy Merlot.” Meanwhile, back in France, Carmenere succumbed to phylloxera, and was thought to be extinct until properly identified in 1994 by enologist Jean Boursiquot.

Many other Bordeaux grapes have also caught on in Chile, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot being the most common. You could say that a modern Chilean Bordeaux blend that includes Carmenere is actually more historically accurate than today’s Bordeaux blends from Bordeaux itself!