Carmenere

Carmenere is a Bordeaux red grape that all but vanished from Europe after the phylloxera crisis of the late nineteenth century. Long mistaken for Merlot in Chile, it was identified there as a distinct variety in 1994 by the ampelographer Jean Boursiquot. Now a Chilean emblem, it yields supple wines with aromas of black fruit, green pepper and spice, turning markedly herbaceous when the grapes are underripe.