Grape Cariñena

The Carignan grape grows well on slate soils and its grains are medium, blackish blue and rounded. They come in large and compact clusters.

 

Regarding its characteristics, it is a variety that has a high tannin content. This tannicity endows the wines made with Carinena with an important acidity. But it also makes them ideal for parenting. And to complement and enrich.

 

In the case of Rioja, it is often used to blend other wines, for example based on Tempranillo and Garnacha, to which it also adds intensity of color.

 

Monovarietal Carignan grape wines have a light violet aroma and are silky on the palate, with a moderate alcoholic strength, which can reach 13o. It has also been shown to be a very versatile grape in its crosses. Crossed with the Cabernet Sauvignon variety, it has produced the Ruby Cabernet variety and, crossed with Cabernet Sauvignon and Garnacha, the Carnelian.

 

Carinena is logically characteristic of the wines of its homonymous DO, Carinena. It is also present in Rioja wines where, as we noted, it is known as mazuelo. Without forgetting the Catalan red wines, where the DO of Priorat, Montsant or Tarragona use this very Mediterranean variety. But we are dealing with a grape that is widely cultivated all over the world: with the name ‘carignan’ in French; ‘Carignano’, in Italian or ‘carignane’, in English.

 

Carignan is a cosmopolitan grape. This is demonstrated by the fact that it is cultivated in very varied countries, such as France, Chile, Mexico, South Africa or the United States, in California, and even in China.