Wine & Spirits - Fall 2018 - 19

"Carmenère from Walla
Walla has always had this
streak of tobacco leaf
that folds just beautifully
into the berry flavors."
-Casey McClellan

profile and potential. The one uncontestable characteristic they all noted is its late ripening-it typically comes in after cabernet sauvignon, and a month
after merlot. That lateness probably contributed to
its demise in the Médoc, where the threat of lateseason rains makes it a risky proposition.
Vigorous and low-yielding, carmenère seems to
thrive in loose, free-draining soils: alluvium in Chile,
sandy soils in China, loess deposits in Walla Walla.
But to make great carmenère, one must overcome
the greenness in the grapes-the overt methoxypyrazines present in several Bordeaux varieties when
they are not fully ripe-to move the needle from
strident green-pepper flavors to subtler, more compelling accents.
In Chile, many producers addressed the greenness
by planting carmenère on exceedingly warm sites, to
push the variety past the pyrazine stage. But now the
prevailing wisdom, in Chile and elsewhere, is that
the best sites are not overly hot but offer temperate,
warm seasons with moderate shifts between daytime
and nighttime temperatures, to slow ripening and
delay the loss of acidity and aromatic precursors.
According to Marcio Ramirez, who makes carmenère for Concho y Toro in the Peumo Valley, the
vine likes moderate conditions, especially in the later
ripening stages. "Our temperatures in May are very
similar to September," he told me. "That is, the tem-

peratures are not very low; it allows carmenère leaves
to remain active."
For Ramirez, another factor is soil uniformity: "In
Peumo we have a very deep soil, at least two meters
deep, without the presence of stones. In Maipo you
have soil with stones, gravels and rocks, ideal for cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc or syrah, but not for
carmenère. Carmenère does not like those restrictions; restrictive soils lead to a wine of little color,
very present tannins and very marked vegetal notes."
As it happens, several of Walla Walla's carmenère
plantings parallel these soil and climate conditions.
"Warm days, cool nights, well-drained soil and lots
of sunshine," is how Casey McClellan of Seven Hills
Winery describes it; McClellan has worked with carmenère since 2001, making a varietal bottling and
blending some into his tête de cuvée, Pentad. "But
I also think that Walla Walla has the right range of
degree days for carmenère," he says. "Not too hot,
not too cold: That keeps it interesting."
Tyler Grennan of Beresan agrees: "Our sites have
excellent air drainage, which limits frost risk, and our
soil drainage allows us to precisely control the moisture in the soil and promote deeper root structure."
According to Chuck Reininger, the warmth of
Walla Walla's Indian summer, through September
and into October, is particularly well suited to carmenère. "It usually requires a last-minute burst of

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