Winemaker Notes
Deep cherry red with violet hues. The nose reveals black fruit, such as blackberries, blueberries and black cherries, intermingled with notes of pepper and spices, as well as damp earth and even some mineral notes, like graphite. In the mouth, this wine has vibrant body and is very fresh and tense. It is smooth on entry, with firm, velvety tannins and fresh acidity, which makes for a long, persistent finish.
This wine is excellent with game, such as venison and boar, as well as pork and lamb.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I tasted two vintages of the Carmenere, and the 2018 Grey Carmenere shows a lot more restraint and austerity than the more generous 2019 I tasted next to it. So, both wines show varietal typicity and marked character from the vintage, plus the stony soils from Maipo where the grapes grow. This is a little more herbal and sharp despite showing very similar parameters.
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James Suckling
Slightly lifted red florals here with bright berry and plum notes. This is very fruit-focused. The palate delivers succulent, juicy red-berry flavors and a light, fine-tannin finish.
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.