winemaker's notes:
Number 5 on the Wine.com 100 of 2007!
Primus is a racy blend of Carmenère, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon made from the highest quality grapes at the Veramonte Estate. It showcases the rare Carmenère variety, a distinctive grape that has found its home in Chile.
Well structured with mature, ripe fruit that exhibits an evolved complexity with a seamless blending of the three varietals. Velvety, with a medium body and smooth, yet powerful tannins.
Chile claims the lost Bordeaux grape
Once a widely planted variety in Bordeaux, Carmenère was all but forgotten after the phylloxera outbreak in the 1880s virtually wiped it off the European wine map. The happy news is that someone carried the vine (also known as Grande Vidure and Grande Carmenet) to Chile in the 1850s. At that time, Chile was welcoming a wine renaissance. The aristocracy was moving to the countryside with the vision of creating a wine industry to rival Europe's.
They planted the noble vines from France and for over a century, thought that the high-vigor vine with pinkish leaves was a special clone of Merlot or Cabernet Franc.
After masquerading as Merlot for over a century in Chile, it wasn't until the 1990s that Chilean winegrowers determined the mystery vines are not Merlot but the lost Bordeaux grape Carmenère. Since then, Chile has become synonymous with the lush and exotic wines made from Carmenère and is the only country producing Carmenère based wines. Salud!
"Unusually ripe for a Casablanca red, this blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and carmenère has the texture of melted chocolate and ripe flavors of fig and blueberry. A powerful acidity keeps a refreshing tension."
-Wines & Spirits
"The proprietary red wine, the 2004 Primus, is a blend of 47% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 23% Carmenere. It delivers an attractive perfume of pain grille, black cherry and blueberry. This is followed by a supple, ripe wine with no hard edges in a racy style. Drink this tasty, lively red over the next five years."
-Wine Advocate
User Reviews
The top 3 most liked reviews for this wine.
Fine and spicy with some lightly smoky flavors and smells. Drinks well especially if you chill it a bit rather than drinking at room temperature.
I was a little skeptical about purchasing this wine. However, I have been very pleased with this wine and its flavor and smoothness. For the price, it stands up very well against other much more expensive wine that I have purchased. I would whole-heartedly recommend it.
What a lovely wine this is. Every time is a pleasant surprise. It is one of my new favorite reds. The bite is smooth and complimentary to most foods. The salt of prosciutto, olives, fondue with cornichons- all examples of how well this wine brings out the flavors of great foods.
Simply put - a delicious wine. Smokey and full - a mouth full of flavor. If I could eat it I would - it was that good.
Very nice red blend, great for the money-the carmenere adds a smokey boldness to the usual Bordeaux varietals.
Great earthy flavor and nice finish - one of my absolute favorite red wines!
My wife and I sat down to have this wine with a steak salad and had no real expectation and both of us came to the same conclusion, wow - that's really nice. I'll leave the more technical reviews to others, but it was really quite enjoyable.
One of my favorite blends. This is a terrific blend to share with people who don't know wines. They will think its a $50+ bottle.
Earthy & Spicy
A Customer - Chicago, IL
Love it - try with grilled ribey and enjoy!
A Customer - Portland, OR
GREAT bordeaux blend for the price! Just love it.
A Customer - San Francisco, CA
I did not like this Cab. It was very smooth, but had a strange liquid smoke flavor. It was drinkable and I appreciate that it is different, but it wasn't to my taste.
A Customer - Natick, MA
This wine stands apart from all other "Bordeaux" style wines from Chile. The structure of the wine shows a fine deep cherry color, an all-enveloping bouquet of chocolate, apricots and oak, and legs that allow for drinking now, but invite you to keep a few cases hidden for 10 years for absolute enjoyment. This is an incredible value for a powerful, velvety, forward true bordeaux easily competing with a Moulis-en Medoc wine such as Chasse Spleen or some of the finer St. Estephes.
A Customer - las vegas
great wine five star good value from chile
A Customer - San Diego, CA
Tried this for the first time the other day. Liked it well enough to order another 6 bottles. It has a fair amount of tannin (as a Bordeaux-style blend should) but also lots of nice, ripe fruit. Very good wine for under $20.
A Customer - New York
Never fails to impress - I've turned on a lot of my friends to this wine.
A Customer - Naples, FL
My new go to summer BBQ wine. I buy it by the case.
A Customer - Seattle, WA
Serious value here. Wine.com has a great price on this one.
A Customer - Boston, MA
Excellent Bordeaux style blend, but without the price tag of Bordeaux.
A Customer - Boston, MA
Another supendous value from Chile!
A Customer - California
Incredible value. Goes great with steak.
A Customer - Boston, MA
Outstanding! My new favorite from Chile.
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