Carmenere when grown right is a fantastic grape, its the lost great grape of bordeaux that didnt work well cause it was too cool with climate change i think the french who are throwing cabernet sauvignon out cause it doesnt work well anymore with climate change and replacing it with cabernet franc should also consider carmenere now that ripening is less a issue.
From his tasting note, I too was totally Chinon. Interesting to see how blind “virtually blind” Carmenere and Cabernet Franc can be similar. I always get a specific Eucalyptus/Sage aroma and flavor when I taste Cármenere
I guessed carmenere based on his description!! Lol. Was actually surprised he went old world considering all discussion was fruit and ripeness. And no tannin.
Based on his description, cab franc makes sense, but I'd call it Mendoza because of the ripeness. I think his ''floral'' character pushed me toward cab franc. Carmenere tends to be very strong on pyrazine, even at high ripeness.
Cabernet franc, always has a leafy note to it even when fully ripe and can be like eating fresh vegetables out of a field. Thats how I pick it out, carmenere tends to be more mineral based, and typically spicy and pyrazines. I know carmenere and cab franc well because I make wine every year in a cooler part of california from both. So im quite experienced with the characteristics and could pick them out of a blind tasting 100% of the time. Same for tempranillo, sangiovese and syrah.
