November 24th is International Carmenére Day and is the day designated in Chile to celebrate their most popular wine. Originating in Medoc in the Bordeaux region in France and was transplanted to its new adopted home sometime around 1850 or so, certainly before Phylloxera swept across Europe in 1867 destroying the vineyards.
For many years it was mistakenly identified as Merlot and and was thought to be extinct until it was ‘rediscovered’ in 1994 by French ampelographist (the field of botany that identifies and classifies grapevines) Jean Boursiquot. It was also one of the original 6 varietals grown in Bordeaux but it almost impossible to find any in France today. Good news is, it is flourishing and hugely popular in Chile- I know, I was fortunate enough to drink several when I was in Chile 20 plus years ago.
All research indicates that Carmenére is the ‘birth child’ of Cabernet Franc and Trousseau- also known as Trousseau Noir, Bastardo and Merenzao and can be traced back to Eastern Europe. It is currently grown in Portugal and used in Port production.
There is another school of thought that it’s a result of crossing Cabernet Franc and Gros Cabernet, a varietal thought to originate from Basque Country. At some point in the future this will all become clear, for the time being though, drink and enjoy this amazing wine from its adopted country and new found home, Chile.
Vine to Table 