With the accents missing over the e's.
Carmenere is one of the supposedly 6 original grapes of the Bordeaux region, and it's also known as Grande Vidure. It's grown more abroad (like this one from Chile) than in France. I think this is the first time I've ever drunk it.
This bottle hails from the Maipo Valley in Chile, which the Maipo River runs through towards the Pacific. It ran me around $10.
Carmenere is most often used to add oomph to other grapes, but this bottle is all these little babies. It's darker and has decidedly more body than the pinot noirs I've drunk lately and even the petite sirahs; it's not like them at all.
I need better glasses for getting the nose of a wine, this one had more nose than most of my pinots. My tasting notes say I got a chocolate note maybe, also something earthy, perhaps coffee.
It tasted almost like an Italian wine, with its body. It wasn't as good with cheese as I thought. I drank some with both some yellow cheddar and some good parmesan, and those didn't bring out the flavor as they do with pinots. I'm guessing it would be good with grilled meats or BBQ.
The label says it has smoky and wooden notes (echoed on wikipedia), so that may be what I was getting. Wikipedia also describes wine from the grape as having earthy and chocolate notes sometimes, so I'm getting better at this.
A nice wine (with a meal, not on its own). I'd like to try other wines from this grape from other vineyards.