$21.99 at Crush Wine & Spirits in Bryant, Arkansas (AR)
92 points – James Suckling
Floral aromas with tobacco and leather notes. Medium to full mouth feel. Smooth tannins.
90% Syrah / 7% Cabernet Sauvignon / 3% Viognier
55% of the wine was aged for 12 months in first and second-use French oak barrels.
Viña Montes is one of the pioneer wineries of Chile. It was founded in 1987 when Aurelio Montes and Douglas Murray wanted to produce their own wines believing that Chile had an untapped potential as a producer of quality wines. Both Montes and Murray had years of experience in the wine world. Two more partners, Alfredo Vidaurre and Pedro Grand, joined in 1988. That same year, they released their first wine, 1987 Montes Alpa Cabernet Sauvignon. This was considered the first premium wine exported by Chile and led the way for other producers to raise their quality standards. At that time, Chile was mostly known for bulk wine. Later they began producing premium Chardonnay, Merlot, Carmeñere, and Syrah. They were the first winery to plant Syrah in Chile. When Montes began his own winery, there were only 14 exporting wineries in Chile. Now there are over 200.
Montes received his degree in agriculture in Chile in 1972. He later became the winemaker for Viña Undurraga and then Viña San Pedro. During this fifteen-year period, he developed a reputation for experimenting with new techniques and wine styles. He was the first to plant on hillsides. His efforts led to his wines being recognized for their quality at both national and international levels. Today Montes’s winemaking expertise is respected worldwide.
Montes’s son, Aurelio Montes, Jr., is now the chief winemaker for Viña Montes. He received his degree in agriculture in 1999. He started his career as a winemaker for wineries around the world. He returned to Chile in 2001 and joined Viña Ventiaquero as an assistant to winemaker Felipe Tosso. In 2007, he joined his father’s winemaking team as the director of winemaking. Also in 2011, he temporarily located to Argentina to lead Montes’s winery, Kaiken. He returned to Chile in 2016 and is now in charge of the Montes winemaking team.
