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Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
2022 Carminium Carménère, Inama

2022 Carminium Carménère, Inama

Veneto, Italy

Black Laurel

Dark, aromatic and distinctly savoury, Carminium shows a refined side of Carménère from the Colli Berici. Blackberry, cassis and ripe plum are layered with violet, Mediterranean herbs, clove, pepper and a touch of cocoa. The limestone and red-clay soils give the wine freshness beneath its richness, making it feel elegant and regional rather than simply powerful.

On the palate, it is juicy, polished and finely structured, with dark berry fruit wrapped in velvety tannins and a long, gently spicy finish. Oak brings depth without dominating, while concrete preserves freshness and fruit purity. This is a strong choice for those who want a distinctive Italian red with generous flavour, smooth texture and enough savoury character to shine with food.

For when: A relaxed roast dinner needs a red with dark fruit, herbs and polished Italian charm.

Pairs with: Roast pork, grilled beef, venison stew, charcuterie, mushroom ragù, polenta, mature cheeses or grilled aubergine.

Carminium is Inama’s pure expression of Carménère from the Colli Berici, sourced from vineyards around Oratorio di San Lorenzo. It sits between the easy-going Carmenere Più and the more ambitious Oratorio di San Lorenzo Riserva, offering plenty of depth and terroir character while remaining supple and immediately appealing.

Whats in the bottle
Carménère 100%

Notable Awards
92 Points, James Suckling and Gold at the 2025 The Drinks Business Awards

£29.95 - £29.95
£29.95
£29.95 - £29.95
£29.95
Availability:
In stock

Inama is one of the Veneto’s most distinctive family estates, best known for its work with Garganega in Soave Classico and Carménère in the Colli Berici. Giuseppe Inama began buying vineyards in the 1960s, convinced that careful site selection could reveal a more serious, terroir-driven side of the region.

Stefano Inama later expanded the family’s focus into the Colli Berici, where warmer, drier conditions and limestone-rich red clay soils offered an ideal home for Bordeaux varieties. Carménère became especially important to the estate, with Inama helping to establish the grape as something more than a historical curiosity in north-east Italy.

Today the third generation, Matteo, Alessio and Luca, works alongside Stefano, continuing a philosophy built around site, regenerative farming and restrained cellar work. Carminium is a particularly useful introduction to that red-wine project. It offers the dark fruit and spice of Carménère, but with the freshness, polish and savoury detail that make Inama’s interpretation feel unmistakably Italian.

The 2022 Carminium is made from 100% Carménère grown in the Colli Berici, where limestone formations and iron-rich red clay soils create a warmer, drier environment than nearby Soave. The grapes are hand picked, and the vineyards have been managed regeneratively for around two decades, with herbicides and chemical fertilisers discontinued since 2009.

After gentle destemming, alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats for around 23 to 28 days. The wine then matures for 12 months, with 50% aged in French oak barriques, either new or previously used once, and 50% in concrete tanks. Alcohol is 14%, residual sugar is 0.6 g/L, and the wine is bottled under DIAM.

The 2022 vintage was hot and dry, with high summer temperatures tempered by vineyard shading, selective irrigation and welcome rain in mid-August. The result is a Carménère with ripe black fruit, herbs, pepper and smooth, velvety tannins, but also enough freshness to keep it lively. It is drinking very well now, particularly with roast pork, grilled meats and mushrooms, while its structure gives it plenty of room to develop further.