Varietal: Carmenere (75% Carmenere; 15% Cabernet Sauvignon; 10% Syrah)
Region: Chile
Cost: $13
Deep red in color with gentle and silky tannins and rich flavors of ripe plum, blackberry, vanilla and spice. Â Pair with pasta, grilled meats, spicy entrees, eggplant, or bell peppers.
Recommendations: I’ve been a fan of Root:1 wines for a while, regularly keeping their Sauvignon Blanc on hand. Â While restocking our wine cellar after the rampant snow we’ve had here in Virginia, my wife and I found a bottle of Carmenere from Root:1 and were quick to grab it.
Paired with a dinner of baked herb chicken and garlic green beans, we were soon ignoring the meal to focus on the wine. Â Beautifully dark red with aromas of berry and green bell peppers, the spice and bell pepper on the palate are amazing, and reminded me of the Viu Manent Carmenere that I enjoyed during the Wines of Chile Blogger tasting, though the flavors of bell pepper were much more mellow – which was not a bad thing. Â
The best part of the wine was that the more it was allowed to open up, the better the flavors of bell pepper became, easily masking the high alcohol content (14%), something that I appreciated. Â If you’ve never had Carmenere before I highly recommend that you try it, and the Root:1 is a great place to start.
Not only do I recommend this wine, but I expect to be picking up more of it very soon.
