MontesAlpha Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley is a deep ruby red wine with intense notes of ripe red and black fruit and complexity of tobacco, leather, and toast. On the palate, enjoy round tannins, good structure, and creamy notes of dulce de leche and toffee in 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 ofwine production in Chile. The four men all made exemplary contributions to creating and establishing ‘Discover Wine Ltda’ now known asVia Montes.

Aurelio Montes has since said of their venture “The Via 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 grapes come from Montes’ vineyards in Apalta and Marchige. The sites are irrigated via a ‘Sustainable Dry Farmed’ system which allows for precise and minimal irrigating, reducing their water footprint by 65%. In Apalta, vines are planted on 45 slopes, providing good exposure for ripeness. Low night-time temperatures moderate this warm area, ensuring the grapes ripen steadily and thus preserving good levels of natural acidity. Marchige is cooler and lies in the rain shadow of the Coastal Range, reducing the threat of fungal disease and resulting in consistently healthy harvests. All grapes were hand harvested.

The grapes were cold soaked at 10C for five days to extract aroma and colour. The grapes were then fermented in stainless steel tanks for 7 – 10 days and kept on their skins to give structure and colour. After malolactic conversion, 100% of the final blend was aged in French oak barrels (30% new, with the remaining second and third use) for 12 months to add complexity and roundness to the wine.

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