Carignan
Also known as Cariñena, Mazuelo, Samsó
Probably Aragón, Spain
A firm, high-acid, deep-coloured red from Aragón, once the most planted grape in France and now valued in old-vine wines from Priorat to Chile.
Sensory profile
Characteristics
Flavor & aroma
At a glance
Production facts
Prevalence
Niche
Climate
Warm climate
Ripening
Late season
Wine styles
Still
Where it's grown
Geography
Shaded areas are the state, province or département(s) containing each region, so they run wider than the appellations themselves.
France
Languedoc-Roussillon
Old bush vines in Corbières, Minervois and Roussillon give concentrated, savoury reds.
Spain
Priorat and Catalonia (Cariñena)
Old Cariñena vines are a backbone of Priorat's mineral reds.
Chile
Background
Origin & History
Carignan probably comes from Cariñena in Aragón. It spread across the Mediterranean and became the most planted grape in France in the 1960s and 70s, when it made large amounts of thin, rustic wine; it is also called Mazuelo in Rioja and Samsó in Catalonia.
Its reputation suffered from cheap, high-yield planting, and subsidised vine-pull schemes from the 1980s cut its area, but old bush vines give concentrated wines, and it is now prized in Corbières, Minervois, Priorat, and in Chile's Maule Valley, where old-vine Carignan has its own VIGNO label. It is a parent of Ruby Cabernet.
Lineage
Family tree
Parentage not recorded — Carignan is an old variety of unknown origin. Click a related grape to explore its own lineage.