The house grapes · red
Carmenère: the grape Chile found in hiding
Carmenère is a red grape that makes dark-colored wine with ripe fruit and a green touch reminiscent of bell pepper. It was born in Bordeaux, in France, but today it's the signature of Chile, where it spent decades planted under the name Merlot.
Where it comes from
Carmenère is from Bordeaux. VIVC, the international grape catalog, records a French origin and old names like Grande Vidure and Carbonet, the latter tied to the Médoc. As for its parents, a 2009 DNA study points to Cabernet Franc as a likely parent; VIVC still lists more than one proposal, so the family tree remains an open question.
In the 19th century, phylloxera, an insect that attacks the vine's roots, devastated the French vineyards. In the replanting, Carmenère was left out and practically disappeared from Bordeaux: Boursiquot himself only knew it from the Vassal collection. In Chile, which escaped the plague, it survived, only mistaken for Merlot: it was planted, vinified and sold under the other grape's name.
How the mix-up was discovered
The one who untangled it was the French ampelographer Jean-Michel Boursiquot (an ampelographer is someone who recognizes grapes by the leaf, the bunch and the flower). He says that in November 1994, visiting Viña Carmen, he looked at a plot presented as Merlot and found it odd: the young leaves were too orange and the flower's stamens were slightly twisted. It was Carmenère, which he was seeing in a vineyard for the first time.
You'll find other years out there, like 1993. Take the word of the man who was there: November 1994. Years later, a DNA study signed by Boursiquot himself and colleagues confirmed that Carmenère and Merlot are different grapes.
What it's like in the glass
Dark color, ripe fruit (plum, blackberry, dark fruit jam) and the trademark: a green smell, of bell pepper or green brush. That comes from pyrazines, the substances that give green bell pepper its smell. A Chilean study measured much higher levels in Carmenère than in most Cabernet Sauvignons.
The dose of green changes with the year's weather and with the clone planted, so there's Carmenère that's almost all fruit and Carmenère that's quite herbaceous. Like the green? Great. Prefer more fruit? Switch producers or vintages until you find yours.
What it pairs with
Carmenère's green gets along with food that also has bell pepper, cumin and herbs: pot roast with bell pepper, picadinho (Brazilian beef stew), kafta, grilled linguiça sausage with vinagrete (tomato and onion salsa), roast chicken with herbs, escondidinho de carne-seca (dried beef and cassava pie). Mexican food works too. And a fruitier Carmenère handles a calabresa sausage pizza just fine. All suggestions: the best match is the one you liked.
Where it shines today
Chile, by far. In the 2024 official register of the SAG, Chile's agricultural service, there were 9,517 hectares, making it the country's fourth most planted wine grape, behind Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and País. Wines of Chile highlights the Colchagua and Cachapoal valleys, and the Maipo Valley also has renowned Carmenère.
In the house's other countries, it's a rarity. In Argentina, INV counted 51 hectares in 2024. In Brazil, an Embrapa survey in Campanha Gaúcha found less than half a hectare in 2015. In Portugal, it's not on IVV's list of most planted varieties. Fun fact: China also has Carmenère; the OIV counted 8,000 hectares there in 2015, against 11,000 in Chile.
Its other names
First, the spelling: Carmenère, with one accent, and Carménère, with two, both appear in official sources. Chile's SAG writes Carmenère; Wines of Chile, which promotes Chilean wine abroad, prefers Carménère; VIVC, which doesn't use accents, records CARMENERE. Write it whichever way you like.
Among VIVC's synonyms are Grande Vidure (the SAG still registers the grape as “Carmenère – Grande Vidure”), Carbonet, Cabernelle and Cabernet Gernischt. And in Chile, for decades, its name was simply Merlot.
To start with: Carmenère by price range
The price range the house saw at big stores in Brazil, in the month shown. The price changes; the range tends to stay.
- Santa Rita 120 Reserva Especial Carmenèreup to R$ 60checked Sep 2026
- Concha y Toro Reservado Carmenèreup to R$ 60checked Sep 2026
- Casillero del Diablo Carmenere (Reserva)R$ 60 to 100checked Sep 2026
- Almavivaover R$ 300checked Sep 2026
Throwing a party? How many bottles to buy →
Top rated with Carmenère
Average rating from the people who drank it (X-Wines), from 1 to 5. Tap to see the wine's page.
- Almavivarating ★ 4.7
- Clos Apaltarating ★ 4.7
- Viña Vik Winery VIKrating ★ 4.6
- Viña Vik Winery La Piu Bellerating ★ 4.6
- Almaviva EPUrating ★ 4.6
- Concha y Toro Carmín de Peumo Carmenèrerating ★ 4.5
- Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founder's Reserverating ★ 4.5
- Montes Angel's Secret Carmenererating ★ 4.5
See all 134 labels with Carmenère in the search →