A new (old) wine is in town
The dramatic story of the Carménère grape is the type of tale that cements one’s love affair with wine. Somehow knowing its history makes one’s enjoyment deeper and even more delicious. Pestilence and man conspired to eradicate the Carménère grape, but resilience, coincidence and mistaken identity brought it back to life.
Intrigued?
Carménère is one of the Bordeaux region’s six noble grapes and was cultivated in chateaux across France in the 1700s. Because the vines had a tendency to lose fruit and didn’t ripen until late in the season, wine makers began to shy away from planting Carménère.
Then the phyllorexa epidemic, with its tiny aphid-like pests that fed on the roots of the vine, wiped Carménère off the wine map in France and in most of the world by the end of the 19th century.
And so Carménère lay forgotten but not completely lost. Skip forward a full century to the 1990s and across an ocean and continent to Chile. Wine makers here were confused by deviations in their Merlot vines and called in a French expert to investigate.
An exciting and baffling truth emerged: much of Chile’s Merlot was actually Carménère. Earlier in the century, Bordeaux cuttings had been shipped to South America and among these, quietly waiting to be brought back to life, were those of the Carménère grape.
Chile, a little country with a rapidly growing wine industry that remains just under the wine world’s radar, has taken up the torch for this long forgotten grape, making it something of a flagship variety. In fact, Chile produces most of the world’s Carménère wine.
To sample Carménère wine we visited Olivia’s at 53, a small College St. restaurant whose cellar of exclusive South American wines is aptly named Below Fifty-Three. We were very impressed. According to co-owner Julian Pinder, we’re in good company.
“People who like Carménère love it,” he says. “And they always come back asking for it again. It’s our most popular wine.”
With a rich, ruby colour Carménère’s bouquet offers aromas of berries, spices and red fruits. Some may liken the taste to a Cabernet Sauvignon though the tannins are softer and subtler. Hints of dark chocolate, tobacco and leather are also sometimes present.
Though most consider it to be a wine best consumed when young, Pinder has found aged Carménère to be equally enjoyable.
“It starts to take on the characteristics of a fine Bordeaux.”
Carménère’s structure is very similar to that of Merlot, not surprising given that it was mistaken for it for much of the 20th century. However, it has much bolder qualities.
“It’s a very full-bodied wine. Certainly not one for the faint of heart,” Pinder says. Expect a wine that is easy to drink, yet still full of character. “We’ve always been huge fans of Carménère. To me, it is one of the most interesting, best quality wines.”
A consistent best seller at Olivia’s at 53, their latest vintage will be released at the end of this year and promises to be even better. Pinder’s excitement is contagious.
“We’re enamoured with this new wine of ours. I have never had a commercial Carménère that compares.”
If you can’t wait that long to try Carménère, the LCBO does offer a small selection of the varietal, all from Chile, and like most South American wines, all very reasonably priced.
A version of this article appears in print Sept. 5, 2008 on page 9.