The story of Carmenère in Chile is astonishing. No one could have predicted that the grapes cultivated for years as Merlot concealed one of the great secrets of the wine world.

In the mid-19th century, the first Bordeaux vines, primarily Merlot—a grape that was very fashionable in France at the time—began arriving in the Maipo and Cachapoal valleys. Merlot vineyards soon caught attention as the grapes took on an intense red color in autumn, and the wine exhibited a particularly spicy and velvety character, setting it apart from other expressions of the variety.

In an effort to understand why this Merlot was so different from that produced in France and other areas of Chile, particularly in the Cachapoal Valley, vine growers began to separate the plants. The healthiest and strongest plants were then reproduced in new vineyards, earning the name Chilean Merlot or late-ripening Merlot.

This continued until 1994 when the French ampelographer Jean Michel Boursiquot confirmed that Chilean Merlot was, in fact, another French grape variety that had been thought to be extinct for years: Carmenère.

This grape had suffered devastating attacks from phylloxera, a plague that destroyed entire vineyards in Europe. As a result of this devastation, Carmenère was practically extinct worldwide.

After this discovery, all eyes turned to Chile to understand how this complex and important variety had found the perfect place to thrive in our country. Simultaneously, winemakers, vineyards, and wine enthusiasts around the world began to take a keen interest and study this mysterious grape that had come back to life.

Almost 30 years have passed since then, and today Chile has undoubtedly become one of the most important exponents of Carmenère. An example of this is our Morandé Selección de Viñedos Carmenère, a wine from the Romeral vineyard in the Maipo Valley, known for its good structure, intense black fruit aromas, and notes of herbs and spices such as cinnamon and cloves. On the palate, it is fresh, with great balance and elegance.

Similarly, our Morandé Pionero Carmenère is a perfect representation of the grape. It comes from the Maule Valley and is an intensely red wine with spicy and fruity notes such as blackberry and cherry. On the palate, it is smooth, with an elegant passage and medium body.