Montes Alpha Carmenère is a deep ruby red in colour,and offers an intense aromas of blackberries, figs and dried plums with notes of nutmeg, black pepper and dark chocolate. The palate is lush and full-bodied, with soft tannins leading to a long, elegant finish.

About the Producer

Montes Wines was established in 1988 after the addition of two further partners, Alfredo Vidaurre and Pedro Grand to the original visionary partners, Aurelio Montes and Douglas Murray.  Murray and Montes both had extensive experience in the world of wine and wished to make their dream come true of being the people responsible for raising the bar for the quality of wine production in Chile.  The four men all made exemplary contributions to creating and establishing 'Discover Wine Ltda' now known as Viña Montes.

Aurelio Montes has since said of their venture "The Viña Montes adventure was almost a retirement project for us. We wanted to make a small, boutique-type vineyard to entertain ourselves the day we were definitely retired and that would also allow us to show off good wines in international markets."

Vineyard and Winemaking

The Carmenère grapes come from Montes' own vineyards in Apalta and Marchigüe, arguably two of the finest sites in the Colchagua Valley. The sites are irrigated via a 'Sustainable Dry Farmed' system which allows for precise and minimal irrigating. In Apalta, vines are planted on 45° slopes, providing good exposure to achieve ripeness. Cool ocean breezes and low night-time temperatures help to moderate this warm area, allowing for slow ripening. Marchigüe is slightly cooler because of its closer proximity to the ocean. Conditions are dry, with the region lying in the rain shadow of the Coastal Range, reducing the threat of fungal disease and resulting in consistently healthy harvests.

The grapes for this wine were cold soaked at 10°C for five days to extract aroma and colour. Following this, they underwent fermentation in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks for 12 days and were then kept on the skins to impart structure and colour. The wine was then matured for 12 months, with 55% of the final blend in first, second and third-use French oak barrels.

Visit the Montes website