Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with beef tenderloin, duck and Indian curry.
Blend: 85% Carmenere, 8% Malbec, 7% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Pretty tobacco and berry character with crushed stone and dried tea undertones. Medium body, firm and silky tannins and a flavorful finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I was very impressed by the 2015 Royale Carmenere, which comes from vines planted in 2006 on the second and third terrace of their estate in Los Lingues at 420 to 500 meters in altitude on volcanic soils. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in barrel for 22 months. It has good ripeness without excess, nicely integrated oak and a textured mouthfeel with a dry, serious and long finish. Examples like this combine elegance and power and manage to keep the freshness while achieving proper ripeness of the grapes. 34,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2017.
Dark, full-bodied and herbaceous with a spicy kick, Carménère found great success with its move to Chile in the mid-19th century. However, the variety went a bit undercover until 1994 when many plantings previously thought to be Merlot, were profiled as Carménère. Somm Secret— Carménère is both a progeny and a great-grandchild of the similarly flavored Cabernet Franc.
Well-regarded for intense and exceptionally high quality red wines, the Colchagua Valley is situated in the southern part of Chile’s Rapel Valley, with many of the best vineyards lying in the foothills of the Coastal Range.
Heavy French investment and cutting-edge technology in both the vineyard and the winery has been a boon to the local viticultural industry, which already laid claim to ancient vines and a textbook Mediterranean climate.
The warm, dry growing season in the Colchagua Valley favors robust reds made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Malbec and Syrah—in fact, some of Chile’s very best are made here. A small amount of good white wine is produced from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.