Why Old Vine Carignan is One of Chile’s Greatest Wine Values
Chilean Carignan is enjoying a well-deserved renaissance.
This red grape of Spanish origin has had a presence in Chile’s Maule Valley since at least the 1940s. The Ministry of Agriculture at the time believed that Carignan’s darker color and high acidity would enhance the region’s wines as a blending agent. They therefore decreed that it be planted widely.
Carignan has rarely if ever been considered a grape capable of producing a fine wine on its own, which is why it has so commonly been used for blending. Words such as “workhorse” and “rustic” are often used to describe the grape’s personality.
Carignan isn’t the easiest grape to work with after all. It is susceptible to disease, so a hot, dry climate is essential. Poor, well-draining soils are also a must as they help keep the vine’s yields in check. Badly managed, overproducing Carignan vines give rise to roughly tannic and unpleasantly acidic wines.
Historically, if the goal was to make a large quantity of average red wine, Carignan was a relatively easy choice.
In the latter decades of the twentieth century, Chilean Carignan fell out of favor as more fashionable and easier-to-work-with grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon cemented themselves in the country’s wine regions.
But the Maule Valley’s Carignan vines, some now pushing 50 years of age, simply waited in the wings. Patiently.
Slowly but surely, winemakers realized that Maule’s old vine Carignan was a treasure that needed careful nurturing. The Maule Valley had always had the requisite climate and soils for Carignan, but now the vines’ yields had naturally tapered off with age.
Then a group of Chilean wineries who believed in Carignan’s potential as a fine wine banded together to form VIGNO, an organization that champions and promotes the wines made from these gnarled old vines.
VIGNO members’ wines must be made from at least 65% old, unirrigated Carignan vines from Maule. At its best, old vine Carignan has solid but not bracing acidity and supple flavors reminiscent of fresh plum and raspberry. Tannins are firm but not coarse.
One of VIGNO’s founding members, Gillmore, is in the GVI Wines portfolio, and their wines beautifully illustrate how good (and affordable) Carignan can be. Because Carignan still lacks the cachet — but not the quality — of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, it can be enjoyed at prices that understate the immense pleasure it can provide.
2019 Gillmore Mariposa Carignan, $15.95
Gillmore’s 2019 Mariposa Carignan has very intense red fruit aromas and complex notes of earth, bay leaf and mint tones. Firm tannins and a juicy acidity give the wine a special personality. If you’re looking for an alternative to more traditional red wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, look no further.
2014 Gillmore Vigno Carignan, Maule Valley, $34.95
VIGNO is the soul of Gillmore, a 100% Carignan from 50-year-old estate vines. In the glass it has a deep red cherry color. On the nose it has intense red fruit aromas and complex notes of earth, bay leaf and mint tones. Firm tannins and juicy acidity give the wine a special personality.
