Chemins Vignerons

Carignan
The most widely-planted red wine grape in France is Carignan Planting became widespread in France during the 1960s, when Algeria gained its independence and was no longer an inexpensive source of ripe grapes. Most Carignan is confined to the Languedoc and southeastern France and is gradually being replaced with more distinctive and aromatic varieties.
Main features :
Carignan buds and ripens quite late, so is not prone to spring frosts, but requires a long season. A vigorous, though not really hardy vine, it is very sensitive to downy mildew and powdery mildew. Carignan has but a single characteristic to recommend it for planting: high yields. An acre of Carignan may easily produce 10 to 12 tons of grapes.
The berries are bluish-black, round and fairly large, with fairly thick, astringent skins. They hang in large, rather compact clusters that are short-stemmed, difficult to harvest, and susceptible to grape worms. They also rot easily.
Oenological potential : Carignan mostly produces wines that have high color, acidity, and tannin, without displaying much distinct flavor or personality and with very little appeal. Skillful growers carefully manage vine vigor and limit crop size to produce  very interesting, distinctive wines from this grape. As with many other varietals, older carignan vines seem to produce wines with generally more character and less brutality.
Carignan frequently becomes a wine for blending or, on its own, for inexpensive everyday consumption. The whole cluster fermentation technique of carbonic maceration can somewhat improve its tendency toward harshness.
Carignan release fruity, floral and animal flavours strawberry, raspberry, violet, rose petal , smoke, toast, tar, anise, licorice, when it’s vinified with the carbonic maceration it has banana, bubblegum, cotton candy (spun sugar) flavours.
Use : Languedoc wines like Corbières Saint Chinian and Roussillon and Provence wines, some southern Côtes du Rhône red.