Carignane (Carignan)
The southern French + Spanish workhorse grape transformed by old-vine production. Field-blend partner in California Zinfandel territory. Priorat’s second great grape.
About Carignane
Carignane (Carignan in France, Carignán in Spain, Carignano in Italy) is a Mediterranean workhorse grape that achieves serious editorial significance only through old-vine production. The grape’s defining viticultural challenge is its very high yield potential — in young plots and fertile sites, Carignane produces bulk wine of unremarkable character. Old, low-yielding vines (60+ years) in lean soils produce dramatically different wine: concentrated, acid-driven, with the variety’s distinctive garrigue (Mediterranean herb scrub) aromatic and tart red-fruit character. Priorat in Catalonia uses Carignane (Carignán) as a major component alongside Grenache (Garnatxa), producing some of Spain’s most serious wines from old-vine schist-soil plots. In California, Carignane is part of the historic field-blend tradition alongside Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Mourvèdre — Ridge Lytton Springs and Bedrock Heritage bottlings include significant Carignane percentages. The variety’s very high acid retention makes it editorially valuable as a blending partner.
Variety profile
Also known as
Editorial notes
Old-vine Carignane is editorially distinct from young-vine bulk Carignane. The grape’s 60+ year vine age requirement for serious wine limits the category’s scale.