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Five great Carmenères from Chile
Every year, in August, db conducts an extensive ‘blind’ tasting of the latest releases from Chile, from which we have picked out the best Carmenères priced from £15 to £50, with the country’s Apalta wine region proving the best place for the grape.
EL PACTO CARMENÈRE
- Producer: Santa Carolina
- Region: Los Lingues
- Vintage: 2021
- Grape varieties: 100% Carmenère
- ABV: 14%
- Approx. retail price: £15
- Score: 93
A deeply coloured wine with intense aromatics of blackcurrant and cherry, with a note of kirsch, along with dark chocolate, green peppercorn, and a nettle-like note. Added to this are flavours of blackberry, cream, cedar, toast, then a touch of capsicum and peppery spice, with a structure combining sweet fleshy berry fruit, some fresher, spicier green notes, and plenty of firm, dry tannins. In short, for those who know Carmenère well, this is a textbook example, mixing soft ripe fruit and a cooling note of pyrazines.
MAQUIS GRAN RESERVA CARMENÈRE
- Producer: Calcu & Maquis
- Region: Colchagua
- Vintage: 2020
- Grape varieties: 92% Carmenère, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot
- ABV: 14%
- Approx. retail price: £19.50
- Score: 94+
Plenty of colour and aromatics feature in this wine, with a deep ruby appearance and scents of crushed strawberry, cream, and peppercorns. In the mouth, there’s more fleshy red berries, along with darker fruit, from plums to cherry, then spice, with a touch of green peppercorn, followed by dark chocolate, and cedar. The finish features firm, ripe, dry tannins, a lingering toasty note, and an appealing almost orange-like freshness. A beautifully made wine with intensity, a certain tautness, and nothing overdone.
LA PUI BELLE
- Producer: VIK
- Region: Cachapoal Valley, Millahue
- Vintage: 2021
- Grape Varieties: 68% Carmenère, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc
- ABV: 14.2%
- Approx. retail price: £50
- Score: 96
This deep-ruby wine is bursting with enticing scents, from stewed Morello cherry to ripe blackberry and sweet raspberry, complemented by toast and peppery spice. The palate is intense and generous, with rich, ripe concentrated fruit, red and dark berry flavours, but without sacrificing freshness – there’s a bright edge from a note of blood orange, along with a subtle peppercorn character. Allied to these components are flavours of cedar and toast, while the finish features plenty of mouth-coating fine, dry tannin. A wine that’s delicious and drinkable, even in this youthful state.
CARMEN DELANZ APALTA
- Producer: Carmen
- Region: Apalta – Colchagua
- Vintage: 2021
- Grape varieties: 71% Carmenère, 15% Syrah, 9% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
- ABV: 13.5%
- Approx. retail price: £35
- Score: 95
This opaque wine is bursting with pure, ripe, concentrated black fruit, backed by some cherry, plums, then spice and toast, along with dark chocolate. The palate is similarly layered and intense, with cassis and raspberry, cracked black pepper, roasted coffee, and then plenty of firm, dry tannin, to make the mouth water. This is a serious, taut, grippy wine with plenty of dense dark fruit, but no greens – despite the relatively moderate ABV of 13.5%. A serious wine, with a certain and pleasing restraint, that’s clearly been crafted for cellaring.
SANTA RITA PEWËN
- Producer: Santa Rita
- Region: Apalta – Colchagua
- Vintage: 2021
- Grape varieties: 100% Carmenère
- ABV: 13.5%
- Approx. retail price: £50
- Score: 94+
This impressive, beautifully-packaged Carmenère blends intense, ripe, black and red fruit with a cool, green peppery edge. Aromatically, there’s cherry and blackberry with capsicum and nettle, while the palate features a touch of toast and caramel married to more berry fruit and a crunchy note of bell pepper, making the wine powerful and refreshing – the latter trait boosted by plenty of dense, dry tannins. With no alcohol heat here, and a firm structure, with concentrated fruit, this is a balanced wine with great cellaring potential.
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