April 24, 2012 · Team HG
This special grape variety seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth after the phylloxera (grape louse) crisis that devastated many vineyards in Europe around 1864. However, the French are rediscovering this grape variety in Chile.
For a century, this grape variety had been mistaken for the Merlot grape here. The same French had great success with this grape variety in the 18th and 19th centuries, as it was part of the greatest wines of the Médoc; unfortunately, Carménère did not return to France after the disaster. In Chile, it is *the* grape variety and the best. Carménère comes from nowhere else but Chile.
Carménère wines are rich in flavor, full-bodied, soft, and lightly spiced with sufficient power. Gastronomically speaking, the Carmenère Very suitable for game dishes, spicy pasta dishes, and the best steaks. With the winemakers of Panul – Francisco Errazuriz, scion of one of the most famous Chilean wine families – I am enjoying the best steak in the country with a 2011 Carménère; it doesn't get any purer than that. Well, and as for French pride: Sarkozy still has that, doesn't he?
Author: Wietze Snaak / www.josbeeres.nl / HG
Column Wietze Snaak – Jos Beeres Wine Merchant
