I should probably preface this by saying, I love weird stuff. Seriously. Deadpool is my favorite comic book character (note, I’m not saying he isn’t popular, just that he’s weird), I love Art Nouveau posters and spicy foods and cheesecakes with weird combinations and vegan donuts. I like weird stuff.
A friend of mine has a love for Old world wine. She can find all the styles that she is looking for there, so if she had to go with only European wines for the rest of her life she’d be quite happy. I prefer the new world stuff. This probably has to do with me first learning about wine here in Niagara, but still. I love straight Cabernet Francs and Petit Verdots. I want a blend with 9 different grapes featuring both French and Italian varieties. Gimmie weird. Gimmie stuff that I haven’t had before.
Therefore, it should come as no shock that I so far love Carmenere. (sorry for the lack of accents). My first experience of it was with Root: 1, recommended to me by a manager at work. It is wonderful and will be explored in a later review.
The Falernia Carmenere was one I spotted when I was looking for something for my office Christmas party. It was there on the shelf with a review by (as I refer to her) High Queen of Wine Jancis Robinson who rated it 16/20.
I think from this point on I’m going to include in my reviews a score out of 10. Two points for appearance, and four points each for aroma and palate. For those who don’t want the details and short numbered score is all you’re after this wine gets a 7/10. A little harsher than Jancis, sure. And if you want to see why, read on.
The wine has a lovely deep red color, purple to ruby at the rim. The wine is nearly opaque at the center. It looks beautiful in the glass 2/2.
The wine has a deep aroma, full of fresh ripe red fruit. There is a hint of licorice to the aroma, and you can also get a hint of the alcohol. There is a note to it of almost synthetic sugar. This wine gets a 3/4 for aroma.
Finally the most interesting part, the palate. It provides a hint of sweetness on the palate. When it is first opened there is a backing of green peppers that fades as the wine is exposed to oxygen. It is a full bodied wine, with a pleasant bit of acidity and a low but detectable amount of tannin. The flavors overall express the same as the nose. It provides a relatively easy drinking wine that will pair easily with food. Overall a 2/4 on the palate. I’d recommend picking it up, but I’d also prefer it to be a little cheaper than the $20 I found it for.
