Who’s Your Daddy?: Carménère

The “Who’s Your Daddy” series takes a very brief look at the parentage of grapes, in order to get a better understanding of where particular varietals come from and how they are genetically related to one another.  So far, we’ve covered: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gaglioppo di CiròGamay, Merlot, Muscat, Müller-Thurgau, Nebbiolo, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Pinotage, Pošip bijeli, Sangiovese, Syrah, Tempranillo, Torrentés riojano,  and also the grapes from the USDA grape germplasm collection. Feel free to click on any one of the varietal names to read all about their parentage.

Brief History

In the past, there has been a lot of confusion regarding the origins of Carmenère.  If fact, one theory is that it is actually the Vidure grape, with Vidure being a local name used in Bordeaux for Cabernet Sauvignon.  Another theory is that Carménère is actually Biturica, a grape made popular in Rome and Iberia during the time of Pliny the Elder.  We’ll get to the bottom of this in a minute…

Though the very first origins of Carménère are up for debate, there is significant documentation putting Carménère in the Bordeaux region of France.  Once the phylloxera infestation in the late 1800s came about, Carménère planting suffered greatly, particularly due to the fact that Carménère is much more

Photo by Agne27 at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

Photo by Agne27 at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

sensitive to phylloxera infestation than other grape varieties.

What saved the Carménère variety from total extinction had to do with cuttings taken prior to the phylloxera crisis.  Specifically, some Chilean grape growers visiting Bordeaux took cuttings from what they thought were Merlot varieties.  Given the visual similarities between Merlot and Carménère plants, little did they know that at the time, they actually collected a significant number of Carménère in addition to Merlot.  These cuttings managed to make it out of Bordeaux and into Chile prior to the phylloxera crisis wiping out nearly all the Carménère plantings in France.  Unbeknownst to many people for years, including the Chileans that first removed the cuttings from Bordeaux, the result was the establishment of Carménère in Chile and the avoidance of complete extinction due to phylloxera. Now thriving in Chile, Carménère is often synonymous with Chilean wine.

Viticulture & Plant Genetics

After phylloxera, Carmenère was not replanted in Bordeaux but instead now we find the vast majority of plantings to be in the hotter climate of Chile.

In Bordeaux, the Carménère was known to be a very difficult grape to grow, and was very susceptible to bad fruit sets and mildew.  Carménère grape vines seem to do best in longer growing seasons in moderate to warmer climates, thus part of the reason why its popularity skyrocketed once it was “rediscovered” in Chile.  Dry climates are also important to the grape, as wines made from Carménère that has had too much water during the growing season will often taste “green”.

In terms of its similarities with Merlot, research has now discovered that they are, in fact, two different grape varieties and that there are minor, yet significant, differences in certain physiological characteristics, including leave shape, color, and ripening times.  In 1994, genetic analysis finally confirmed that Merlot and Carménère are actually two separate varieties.

Tasting Notes

I’ve had a few Carménère wines in the past several years, and it is certainly a wine I enjoy.  To be fair, as long as it’s made well I pretty much like everything, but still…

Being a more “rare” variety and not one you find on the store shelves as often as say Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, it adds just a little bit more “pizzazz” to me (which I realize is totally psychological).

According to various sources online, and to my own personal experiences, Carmenère wines tend to be a

Population bottleneck:  Imagine the red line is when a small number of Carménère grapevines were moved from France to Chile.  What happens is that the genetic diversity drops significantly due to the drastically reduced population size in the new region.  Then, eventually propagation occurs in the new region, though may not recover to the same level of genetic diversity as the original population due to the lower population numbers to start. Photo by TedE [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons

Population bottleneck: Imagine the red line is when a small number of Carménère grapevines were moved from France to Chile. What happens is that the genetic diversity drops significantly due to the drastically reduced population size in the new region. Then, eventually propagation occurs in the new region, though may not recover to the same level of genetic diversity as the original population due to the lower population numbers to start.
Photo by TedE [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons

very deep red in color, with a lot of red fruit and spice aromas and flavors.  In terms of comparison, Carmenère tends to be “softer” than Cabernet Sauvignon, and more “rustic” in flavor (if that’s even a thing…) compared to Merlot.  In terms of mouth feel, every Carménère I’ve had so far has left me with a nice full mouth-feel that just massages every little nook and cranny of my mouth.

Who’s Your Daddy, Carménère ?

So, without further ado, “Who’s Your Daddy, Carménère ?”

In 2007, genetic analysis revealed that Carménère was actually less genetically diverse than other grape

varieties.  To me, this makes sense as only a relatively small number of cutting were taken from the Bordeaux Carménère grapes, with the originals in France being all but wiped out.

According to population bottleneck theory, a sharp reduction in a population for any reason (including the moving of a small number of plants to a different location and the wiping out of the original population), will lead to decreased genetic diversity that will only recover after a long (think: evolutionarily long) period of time when random mutations and breedings have had time to occur.

In 2012, genetic analysis revealed the parents of Carménère to be:

Photo By Rosenzweig (Own work (own picture)) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo By Rosenzweig (Own work (own picture)) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Cabernet Franc…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…….and……

Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trousseau_(grape)

Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trousseau_(grape)

…..Gros Cabernet.

 

There you have it!  If you’re interested in learning more about Carménère and the history behind this nearly-wiped-off-the-face-of-the-planet-forever grape, I encourage you to visit these resources:

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles:

Moncada, X., and Hinrichsen, H. 2007. Limited genetic diversity among clones of red wine cultivar ‘Carmenère’ as revealed by microsatellite and AFLP markers. Vitis 46(4): 174-180.

Zhong, X.M., Yao, Y.X., Du, Y.P., and Zhai, H. 2012. ‘Cabernet Gernischt’ is most likely to be ‘Carmenère’. Vitis 51(3): 125-127.

Online Articles (all accessed 9/9/2014):

Carmeneres from South America (Epicurious)

Carmenere Wine (Wine-Searcher)

Carmenere Wine Grapes, Flavor, Character, History, Wine Food Pairings (The Wine Cellar Insider)

Primary Red Varieties: Carmenere (Wines of Chile)

The Noble House of Carmenet (Jancis Robinson)