Carmenere - please recommend!

Your in UK, right? The Midlands Co-op, and, presumably, other regions, do a "Fairtrade" own-label Carmenere which is a jolly good fiver's worth. I've had one tainted bottle, which was exchanged without question, and the rest have been superb. Good for the conscience, too.

Regards,

Ian

Hello Ian - I'm in Kensington, London. Don't know my nearest co-op. Oddbins have very little, Tesco at least one, Safeway none I can see. I'll have to try M&S, Sainsbury and Waitrose. There are various mail order firms in the UK, none of which I know. I actually drink very little - a couple of glasses a day max. So it's nice to have quality rather than quantity. A bottle lasts three days or more. I've been looking on the internet and I really need some ratings - Wine Spectator have some. where else can I look for guidance, and which are some good wine traders in the UK with good stocks of this kind of stuff and decent prices?

=== Andy Evans ==Visit our Website:-

Does this wine have to be drunk straight out of the bottle? If it's left to "chambrer" it seems to get worse. Just curious. Drinking some Luis Felipe Edwards Carmenere Colchagua 2002, and I seem to think it was better right out of the bottle. It's not a great wine - frustrating to get a carmenere that is not quite totally convincing - it seems to have so much potential. Andy

=== Andy Evans ==Visit our Website:-

If you mean decanting, no it isn't necessary. But good carmenere doesn't "fade" like the one you've experienced.

Yeah, there's a lot of bad carmenere out there. Seems you got one of those.

Avoid uneven years (i.e. 2002). They were rainy, usualy picked before it's fully ripe.

But don't give up. A good carmenere will surely reward your patience.

-Indirecto

Waitrose also has the fair trade Carmenere (it is from Traidcraft). And I agree with the recommendation.

Sheila Page

In article , Andy Evans writes

I bet that in blind tastings you (and I and everybody else) can't tell Chilean Carmenere from Merlot.

Somehow I am getting the feeling that Carmenere just happens to fit neatly into the Chilean wine industry's marketing plans.

Just like Argentina is associated with Malbec, Australia with Syrah, New Zealand with Sauvignon Blanc, California with Zinfandel and Uruguay with Tannat, it looks like Chile has designated Carmenere as its signature grape--and then proceeded to market the hell out of it.

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I bet I can.

Of course, I sometimes confuse some cabernet with merlot, so 100% accuracy may not be expected. But try some chilean "merlot" and you can definitely tell there's much carmenere in them. They're really different grapes and turn out different wine.

Neatly? It was almost a disaster. Imagine someone telling you the merlot you've been selling for years is not really merlot. Doh!!!!

And let's not forget that Chile (still) doesn't have any "wine industry marketing plan" to speak of... just getting them to agree to put the world "Chile" in the label has been like pulling teeth.

Just think that Chile's best wine made (mostly) of carmenere doesn't even state it on the label. (Clos Apalta). Marketing? Hmmm....

Chile has "designated" nothing. They're still struggling to find an image of their own. I bet, for example, chilean syrah does better around the world than carmenere. And don't forget the new sauvignon blancs. And, of course, Chile's top grape is still Cabernet Sauvignon.

Chilean wineries WISH they knew carmenere well enough to make it it's signature grape. But the reality may be far from it.

But you really can't blame them for trying, could you.

And by the way, a good carmenere is really awesome.

-Indirecto