Mention malbec and most wine drinkers think of Argentina. Over the other side of the Andes there is another fantastic red grape: carmenère.

Malbec is synonymous with Argentina but do you immediately associate carmenère with Chile?

And do you seek out a bottle of carmenère in the same way you would make a concerted effort to find a good malbec? I think you should.

Whatever, there is a marketing drive to promote carmenère as the perfect wine to pair with a curry. The carmenère-made-for-curry campaign reminds me of a similar initiative to promote malbec, as the perfect partner for beef, a few years back.

I can understand the ‘with curry theory’ to some extent because carmenère makes bold, spicy reds. Jammy examples at the cheaper end, with minimal oak influence, are indeed a good foil for an Indian takeaway.

However I think this is underselling the grape, after all it is historically one of the six red Bordeaux varietals. Perhaps, had carmenère been more disease resistant, it would still be an important grape in Bordeaux but it is undoubtedly better suited to Chile’s growing conditions, where it thrives.

I’ve picked out some examples which I think really show the grape’s potential.

All three are too good to drink with curry, those spices would knock your palate for six, so don’t even think about it.

However, Errazuriz Estate Carmenère 2009 is cheap enough to pair with lamb rogan josh if you are intent on doing so. It’s crammed with flavours of blackberry and raspberry, dark chocolate, spice and a hint of tomato leaf.

The Montes winery claims the benchmark carmenère, with its delightfully named and beautifully labelled Purple Angel. The 2007 vintage is available from Harrods but at a rather prohibitive cost of £29.50.

Given this, and the fact that the wine needs at least another five years in the cellar, I’d rather plump for Montes Alpha Carmenère 2007. From Chile’s Colchagua valley, it is a rich, ripe, compote of black plum, raspberries, chocolate and peppers, held together by supple tannins.

If you are intent on pushing the boat out (hint for Father’s Day) then look no further than De Martino Alto de Piedras Carmenère 2008, from a single vineyard in Isla de Maipo, in the Maipo Valley.

Well balanced, it has blackcurrant on the nose, with flavours of bramble, plum, cream soda, chocolate and smoke.

This is a superb wine, that will go the distance and should be drinking well for years to come.

Errazuriz Estate Carmenère 2009, £6.99 each when you buy two at Majestic 17/20.

Montes Alpha Carmenère 2007, £11 from Slurp.co.uk 19/20.

De Martino Alto de Piedras Single Vineyard Carmenère 2008, £20.20 from Slurp.co.uk 18/20.