🍷 The Lost Grape of Bordeaux Lives in Chile: The Story of Carménère

🍇 The Grape That Disappeared, and Came Back

Few wine stories are as surprising as Carménère's. Once a respected blending grape in Bordeaux, it was believed to have vanished after the phylloxera epidemic of the mid-1800s. Yet in Chile it had been growing quietly for generations, mistaken for Merlot.

🚢 From Bordeaux to Chile

Cuttings from Bordeaux reached Chile in the 19th century. For roughly 150 years, growers planted the vines believing they were Merlot, sometimes calling the wine Merlot Chileno. Chile never suffered the phylloxera pest that devastated Europe, so its vines could grow on their own roots, which helped the variety survive.

📅 24 November 1994: The Rediscovery

On 24 November 1994, French ampelographer Jean-Michel Boursiquot visited a vineyard at Viña Carmen in the Maipo Valley and recognised that vines catalogued as Merlot were in fact Carménère. What happened next:

• Official recognition: Chile's agriculture authorities formally recognised it as a distinct variety in 1998.

• Today: Chile grows the large majority of the world's Carménère.

• Carménère Day: every year, Chile celebrates it on 24 November.

🌿 What It Tastes Like, and Where It Grows

• Style: Chilean Carménère is often described as soft and spicy, with dark fruit and, depending on ripeness and style, a hint of herbs or pepper.

• Home valleys: Maipo, Cachapoal and Colchagua, where long growing seasons help it ripen fully.

🛎️ The Next Step: Taste Carménère at the Source

With Julio Private Tours, our private wine days from Santiago focus on the Casablanca Valley, but Carménère-themed visits to estates in Maipo, Cachapoal or Colchagua can be arranged on request. Other special requests, from tastings with winemakers to helicopter transfers between estates, can also be explored on request, subject to availability and supplier confirmation.

Ready to taste Chile's signature red at the source?

Request your Carménère tasting day

Sources: Wine Enthusiast, South America Wine Guide and Concha y Toro. Contact: info@julioprivatetours.com | +1 (917) 809-5150