Carmenère

Chile's signature red; herbal, plummy, long misidentified.

Carmenère is one of Bordeaux's six historic red grapes, nearly extinct in France after phylloxera. It survived in Chile, where Bordeaux cuttings imported in the 19th century included it — but until 1994 it was misidentified as Merlot. Properly recognized, Carmenère became Chile's signature red. Ripens later than Merlot and shows distinctive green-pepper and dark-plum notes; fully ripe versions yield rich, soft, slightly herbal reds. Cool sites can show overly green pyrazine character.