Winemaker Notes
Deep purplish-red in color. The intense nose offers pleasing notes of ripe blackberries, figs, and dried plums. Spicy notes of nutmeg and black pepper complement a backdrop of tobacco, leather, and a subtle hint of balsamic and dark chocolate aromas. The palate is well balanced, lush, and structured, with soft tannins that lead to a long and very elegant finish.
Highly recommended with red meats, stir-fried beef and vegetables, pork chops, spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, lamb chops, and mushroom ravioli.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of moss and oyster shell to the black fruit. Some black olives, dried herbs and dried flowers. Medium-bodied and very firm. Slightly austere, but so fresh and delicious. Plush, yet dry at the end. Really delicious. Drink or hold.
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Tasting Panel
Black cherry, black-berry, plum skin, red bell pepper, and a dash of spicy chile flakes carry over to the medium-bodied palate and dry, graphite-lined finish. Blended with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and sport-ing a classic-looking label, this dry-farmed Carménère aged for one year in first-, second-, and third-use French oak barrels.
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Wine Spectator
Intense minerality accents the well-honed dark cherry, currant and plum flavors, loaded with savory richness. Slate and dried green herbal notes fill the structured finish. Drink now through 2024.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Montes Alpha Carmenère does an excellent job in defining this grape variety. TASTING NOTES: This wine is fresh and bright with aromas and flavors of red currants, dried herbs, and a hint of earth. Enjoy it with grilled pork kebabs. (Tasted: February 22, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
Dark, full-bodied and herbaceous with a spicy kick, Carménère found great success with its move to Chile in the mid-19th century. However, the variety went a bit undercover until 1994 when many plantings previously thought to be Merlot, were profiled as Carménère. Somm Secret— Carménère is both a progeny and a great-grandchild of the similarly flavored Cabernet Franc.
Well-regarded for intense and exceptionally high quality red wines, the Colchagua Valley is situated in the southern part of Chile’s Rapel Valley, with many of the best vineyards lying in the foothills of the Coastal Range.
Heavy French investment and cutting-edge technology in both the vineyard and the winery has been a boon to the local viticultural industry, which already laid claim to ancient vines and a textbook Mediterranean climate.
The warm, dry growing season in the Colchagua Valley favors robust reds made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Malbec and Syrah—in fact, some of Chile’s very best are made here. A small amount of good white wine is produced from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.