red grape · regional staple
Alicante Nero
Hérault, France
Say it
ah·lee·kahn·tehneh·roh
Prime name is French (Alicante Henri Bouschet); 'nero' is Italian for black. 'Alicante' references the Spanish city/region.
On the palate
Body
full
Acidity
medium minus
Tannin
medium plus
Aromatics
pronounced
blackberryblack plumblack cherryblack currantblack pepperchocolatetobacco
How you spot it blind: rare teinturier with red flesh; juice runs inky purple without extended maceration
The story
First written down · c. 1855, Hérault, France
Bred by Henri Bouschet at Domaine de la Calmette in Hérault via a Petit Bouschet × Grenache cross; after phylloxera it spread globally as a high-yield colorant blender, reaching peak French plantings of 24,168 ha in 1958 before declining sharply.
Family tree: PETIT BOUSCHET × GRENACHE
Where it lives
Alentejo, Portugal · Castilla-La Mancha, Spain · Almansa DO, Spain · Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Shows up as
still redroséfortifiedsparkling