One of the most widely planted grapes in the world, Carignan is a vigorous, high-yielding vine that probably originated near the town of Cariñena in Aragon. Since it grows well in a Mediterranean climate it is widely planted in France, Italy, Spain, Sardinia, Tunisia and Algeria. Carignan is also found in most other wine producing countries though the variety known as Carignan in Australia is usually the Portuguese variety Bonvedro.
In Spain it is known as Cariñena (Catalonia), with Mazuelo (Rioja), Tinto Mazuelo, Crujillon and Samsó, although Samsó can also be a synonym for Cinsault. In California it is spelled as Carignane, while in Italy it is known as Gragnano. In Portugal it is Pinot Evara although it isn’t a member of the Pinot family. Other French synonyms include Carignan noir, Bois Dur, Catalan, Roussillonen, Monestel and Plant de Lédenon and, in Sardinia, Carignano del Sulcis.
The grapes come in medium sized compact bunches of thick-skinned blue-black berries. As a late-ripening variety the berries are prone to rot, powdery mildew, downy mildew and grape worms. Carignan needs a warm climate to ripen properly and the vine develops thick stalks around the grape clusters which makes mechanical harvesting difficult.
Wine made from Carignan is usually deeply coloured (violet and purple), astringent, tannic and high in alcohol, characteristics that make it popular as the backbone of everyday drinking wines. As a workhorse red grape in Languedoc it is often made as Vin ordinaire andVin de pays, blended with Cinsaut, Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre, Merlot, Morrastel and Aramon.The wine has hardness and astringency with little varietal character when young, but adds finesse, length, fruitiness, body and colour to other varieties. With age Carignan loses the astringency and hardness, developing a rounder, softer palate.
Carignan, along with Aramon, was one of the main grapes responsible for France's wine lake, particularly once Algerian independence in 1962 cut off supplies of Carignan for vin ordinaire and growers in Southern France began to plant the vine, and in 1988 it was France's most widely planted (167,000 hectares) grape. Attempts to increase the quality of European wine and reduce the wine lake saw a scheme where growers were offered cash subsidies to pull up vines. Carignan was the most widely affected variety dropping to 95,700 ha by 2000.
