Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere

There should be some accents on the 1st and 2nd e's in Carmenere, but I still don't know how to do that on a keyboard.

I've had a nasty cold, but am now almost fully recovered. I opened the Cono Sur Organic Cab Sauv/Carmenere from Chile a couple of days ago because I felt that my cold had abated enough to perhaps enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. I had a sinus infection, but the rest of me felt pretty good compared to the snuffly pathetic mess I was last week. I was wrong, and the wine had very little flavour and worsened my sinus condition (alcohol causes/increases inflamation). I did notice black pepper and quite a striking scent of violets which I was pleased with. I don't usually find violets in my wine, but do on occasion, and it is quite pleasant. However I didn't get much else out of the wine the first time I tried it. I had another glass yesterday and it improved, but was still a bit flavourless and not very interesting, but I did notice quite smooth tannins and figured if I could taste it better, it might be a good dinner wine. I finished it off this afternoon while watching Sideways, and decided that I did indeed like it. Nothing amazing, and the violets were hard to detect, but still present amidst the other flavours of blackberry, plum and subtle cloves. It wasn't too oaky and I figure it would be another good wine to serve at a dinner party or give as a gift as there is nothing offensive about it, and it is quite in the middle flavour-wise as far as medium bodied red wine goes. Nothing exciting, nothing off putting. And another good thing, it retails here for just over $15.

Carmenere is a Bordeaux grape that is no longer widely cultivated in France. However, a few years ago, it was discovered that many of the Merlot plantings in Chile were actually Carmenere. Now it is sold as a varietal and has become fairly popular. In character, it tends to have more of the smooth fruitiness of Merlot, while also having a bit more tannic structure like a Cab Sauv. There is another Chilean Carmenere in the liquor store, the Sunrise Carmenere ($12.10), which I recall not liking very much. But I don't really remember it well as I had it last summer, so perhaps I will try it again.