2008 Carmen Carmenere

The facts:

2008 Carmen Carmenere
Region: Rapel Valley, Chile
Variety: 85% Carmenere, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aging: Taken from www.carmen.com, "The bunches were crushed and cold macerated for 10 days at 3ºC to obtain colour and fruitiness. Alcoholic fermentation was made in stainless steel tanks between 26-28ºC. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally in stainless steel tanks. 30% of the wine was aged in French and American oak barrels for a period of 6 months."

My take:

This wine had a red-black nose to me. I definitely got a sense of black pepper upon the first sniff or two. After opening up a bit, that black pepper transformed a bit to more of a green bell pepper.

Though I know we said we wouldn’t describe wine this way, it quite honestly made me think of strawberries, green bell pepper, and black pepper. It’s definitely on the spicy side, but not overbearingly so.

The texture was ever so slightly chewy and slightly dry. I’d call it full-bodied.

When all is said and done, I don’t really have too much to say about this wine. It isn’t great, but it isn’t bad either. We drank it before, during, and after having a steak dinner and it held up to marinated, grilled rib eye. But for me, that green pepper flavor didn’t seem to pair well with the steak. I liked the wine better without food. That being said, it’s not velvety enough for my tastes and I get no sense of the brown that I tend to prefer, so it’s not something I’d purchase again.

Price point: $12-$13