Winemaker Notes
Great depth of color. The nose offers a splendid and potent expression of the character of Carménère (forest fruit, eucalyptus, and leather), with toasty notes of bay leaf and clove, as well as licorice and black pepper.
This great wine is the ideal companion for roast lamb or pig as well as meats cooked over coals and spiced with aromatic herbs and licorice.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Cordillera Carmenere is very peppery with pungent varietal aromas. They try to show the DNA of the variety in the classical one of Peumo through good ripeness but keeping the freshness. The wine comes through as medium-bodied and fluid, balanced and with very fine tannins and with classical notes of cigar ash, cracked peppercorns and herbs. Rating: 90+
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.
The Maipo Valley is Chile’s most famous wine region. Set in the country’s Central Valley, it is warm and quite dry, often necessitating the use of irrigation. Alluvial soils predominate but are supplemented with loam and clay.
The climate in Maipo is best-suited for ripe, full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (the region’s most widely planted grape), Merlot, Syrah and Carmenère, a Bordeaux variety that has found a successful home in Chile.
White wines are also produced with great prosperity, especially near the cooler coast, include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.