12 Wines for the Holidays: For the Indie Adventurer

2016 Casa Silva Los Lingues Vineyard Carmenere, Colchagua, Chile $20

I recently spent 4 days in Chile with about 25 winemakers taking part in an extensive tastings and seminars. It was a fabulous opportunity to really get to the know the new Chile and learn about the new projects and direction the industry is headed towards. I first visited Chile about 8 years ago as I wanted to get a better understanding of Carmenere, a grape that I will admit I’m not historically fond of. I find it to be too green and vegetal for my tastes but I’ve learned that the trick to Carmenere is it needs to be planted in the right conditions. Chile is holds a lot of diversity in terms of its micro-climates and topography. There can be a lot of variation depending on how close you are to the coast or the foothills of the Andes and of course where the vineyard is situated north versus south. Carmenere thrives in warmer regions like Apalta and Colchagua where this Casa Silva is from. I think I inherently wanted Carmenere to be like Cabernet Sauvignon (Beyonce if you will) but it’s its own thing (Solange). When grown in the right conditions and respected on its own terms, it can be beautiful and ethereal.

Available at Perman Wine Selections