DE GRAS Carménère Reserva 2009 Grape Variety 100% Carmenere Tasting Note: Deep purple / red in colour with a full bouquet of spice, oak and black fruit and a firm but juicy palate. Offers plum, damson and curranty characters alongside well integrated toasty oak and layers of vanilla. Very good example of Carmenere. Food Matching Note: Teriyaki pork chops, lamb chops with minted potatoes and zucchini or blackened steak salad. Vinification Note: The grapes came from the MontGras Estate vineyards in the Colchagua Valley. MontGras Carmenère Reserva is made from this little known French grape variety, which was originally grown in Bordeaux for use in the classic blend of the region. In the 1800's it was brought to Chile and has since thrived, although it is seldom seen outside Chile. Through recent genetic testing of vines, we have discovered that much of what was originaly thought of as Chilean Merlot, is in fact Carmenere, easily mistaken as here it produces soft, full and rounded red wines, of which MontGras is an excellent example. Harvested at the end of March. Destemmed crushed grapes were fermented at 26° to 28°C with skin contact for 10 days. 60% of the wine was finished and aged for 18 months in American oak barrels. The barrels were racked and refilled every three months, egg white fining was done before bottling. The wine was bottled unfiltered. Find this wine at www.winestore.co.uk Price: £65.96 (Including VAT at 20%)