Carmenère is a very minor dark-skinned grape variety in Bordeaux today but was, according to Daurel, widely cultivated in the Médoc in the early 18th century and, with its parent cabernet franc, established the reputations of its best properties. He reports that the vine is vigorous and used to produce exceptionally good wine but was abandoned because of its susceptibility to coulure and resultant low yields. It yields small quantities of exceptionally deep-coloured, full-bodied wines that can taste decidedly herbaceous if the grapes are not completely ripe. Ch Clerc Milon, pauillac classed growth, usually includes some in its assemblage and the odd varietal emerged in Bordeaux in the early 2000s.
