Montes Winery Celebrates 30 years of Carménère.

Eduardo Stark, Area Manager for Montes Wines, found the perfect excuse to invite wine professionals for a lunch and tasting event. After all, 2024 marks 30 years since the rediscovery of the Carménère grape variety in Chile. 

Delta Wines extended the invitations, Montes curated an exquisite wine selection, and restaurant Fifth NRE in Eindhoven provided the lunch. What follows is a report of events by our own Marc Roovers.

Chile’s Wine Legacy

Chile boasts a long history of winemaking. Spanish conquistadors brought grapevines to South America in the 16th century, marking the beginning of viticulture in the region. By the mid-19th century, classic French grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc were introduced. After a period of political upheaval, the 1980s saw a significant technological evolution, resulting in a massive increase in Chilean wine exports. During this time, numerous wineries were established, many with foreign investment.

Chile has enforced a stringent quarantine on imported plant material, which, combined with the country’s unique climate, has allowed it to maintain certain elements of isolation in its viticulture. As a result, Chile has never experienced phylloxera, and fungal diseases are much lower compared to other countries.

Viña Montes

Viña Montes was born in 1987 as a project by four families, spearheaded by Aurelio Montes and Douglas Murray. Their ambition was to produce wines of much higher quality than what was standard in Chile at the time. They were joined by Alfredo Vidaure and Pedro Grand, who contributed financial and marketing expertise. Today, Montes remains a family-owned winery, though after the passing of three of the original partners, new families have joined the project. Aurelio Montes, now 75, is still actively involved and has overseen 52 harvests. He continues to lead winemaking alongside his son, Aurelio Jr.

Now registered as Montes S.A., the company is considered a mid-sized winery by Chilean standards. Its 700 hectares of vineyards are spread across Chile’s Central Region, a narrow strip of land stretching over 1,000 kilometers. From north to south, their vineyards are located in Aconcagua, Maipo, Colchagua, Curicó, Maule, Itata, and as far south as Patagonia on Chiloé Island. Their most renowned wines, however, hail from Colchagua, where Montes first began.

It’s no surprise that their vineyards are predominantly planted with classic French varieties such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. More adventurous varieties like Carignan, Grenache, and Mourvèdre feature in their ‘Outer Limits’ range, while Tempranillo is included in the ‘Specials’ series. Of course, Carménère is also grown, but more on that in a moment.

With such a variety of grapes, Montes produces an extensive range of wines, from entry-level offerings in the ‘Classic Series’ to more innovative wines in the ‘Specials’ range, as well as world-renowned wines labeled as ‘Icons’.

The Rediscovery of Carménère

On a beautiful spring day in November 1994 (remember, we’re in the Southern Hemisphere!), French ampelographer Jean-Michel Boursiquot noticed something unusual in a vineyard supposedly planted with Merlot vines. Boursiquot was visiting Chile to give lectures at a conference and was invited to tour some vineyards. When they stopped at a small plot, the Chilean host asked for his opinion on the new Merlot parcel. Almost immediately, Boursiquot noticed that something was amiss. The vines didn’t resemble Merlot— the young leaves were tinged with orange, and the leaf shape was different. Further investigation, with samples sent to France for analysis, confirmed his suspicion: the vines were actually Carménère, a grape once grown in Bordeaux but abandoned after the phylloxera epidemic.

The news sent shockwaves through Chilean winemaking. Just a few years earlier, a similar issue had arisen when it was discovered that some plantings of Sauvignon Blanc were actually the less esteemed Sauvignonasse, causing a setback for Chile’s wine reputation.

Now, it was Carménère instead of Merlot. Not only had the winemakers never realized they weren’t working with Merlot, but even renowned wine critics who had been awarding high scores to Chilean Merlot wines for years had never raised doubts about the wine’s identity.

Aurelio Montes was one of the first to embrace this discovery and turn it into a success story through a well-planned campaign. Instead of seeing it as a problem, he viewed it as a milestone—the “rescue of a prehistoric variety.” 

However, the first Carménère wines (produced without any Merlot) were disappointing, as Aurelio recalls. Lacking expertise, winemakers found that handling Carménère was a completely different challenge than working with Merlot.

Working with Carménère: a unique challenge

At Montes, they took the time to learn how to best work with the grape. Finding the optimal vineyard sites was a long process, as each attempt required waiting years for the vines to mature enough to assess grape quality. If the results weren’t satisfactory, they uprooted the vines and tried again in a different location. In addition, determining the ideal harvest time and developing a distinct winemaking style for Carménère took years of experimentation.

The grape thrives in warm, yet not too hot, locations with soils that are poor enough to control vigor but have sufficient water retention to endure the dry winters. Today, Montes focuses on some of the best terroirs in Colchagua: Apalta and Marchigüe. 

In Apalta, the sub-valley’s orientation results in fewer hours of sunlight on the vines, allowing for slower grape ripening. The Apalta vineyard has a variety of soil types, including eroded granite with low fertility, coarse and deep soils, and mountain slopes with a blend of sand and clay. The surrounding colluvial areas have two distinct types of soil: coarse sand and large stone blocks and silty sand. 

Closer to the ocean, the Marchigüe vineyards benefit from cooler temperatures, also contributing to slower ripening. The terrain here is flatter, and primarily made up of granitic soils, with notable diversity including granite clay soils rich in iron oxides, deep granitic sandy soils, sandy-quartz soils, sedimentary soils, and alluvial soils varying between calcareous and stony clay types.

One could argue that there are currently two main styles of Carménère: a fresher, spicier, and greener style made from earlier-harvested grapes, and a more opulent, fruit-forward style with a silky mouthfeel. At Montes, they clearly prefer the latter, riper style.

The grapes are harvested late, sometimes even overripe, to control the green pyrazine notes. By harvest time, some berries are already shriveling. Given the hot climate, maintaining good acidity can be a challenge, so the wines are often blended with varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc, which contribute higher acidity.

The Carménère Wines at Montes

During Eduardo Stark’s masterclass, we were treated to a comprehensive overview of Montes’ Carménère wines. It was fascinating to compare the various ranges side by side. Unfortunately, the lighting condition in the room where the masterclass was held wasn’t ideal, making all the wines appear to share about the same hue. Nevertheless, they were all deep carmine red and opaque in appearance.

• Montes Carménère Limited Selection 2019 – D.O. Valle de Conchagua

This wine is made from 100% Carménère, with 47% of the wine aged in used French oak barrels for 10 months. In the glass, it presents as an elegant wine with hints of blackberry and raspberry, pleasant acidity, and soft tannins.

• Montes Alpha Carménère ‘White Label’ 2021 – D.O. Valle de Conchagua

A blend of 90% Carménère and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% of the wine is aged in new French oak for 12 months, while the other half is stored in cement tanks. The nose offers more oak, with notes of vanilla and caramel. Alongside the ripe dark fruit and dried prunes, there’s a herbal note, with grippy tannins in the aftertaste.

• Montes Alpha Special Cuvée Carménère 2022 – D.O. Valle de Conchagua

This wine includes 5% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc in addition to Carménère. Sixty percent of the wine spends 12 months in French oak barrels, of which 60% are new. The grapes are sourced entirely from the Marchigüe vineyard. Floral aromas, green pepper, and cinnamon accompany ripe berries, elegant acidity, and soft, ripe tannins, creating a highly structured wine.

• Montes Wings Carménère 2020 – D.O. Apalta  

Comprising 85% Carménère and 15% Cabernet Franc, this wine is aged for 16 months in new (80%) and second- and third-use (20%) French oak barrels.  ‘It takes two wings to fly’: this wine is crafted jointly by Aurelio Montes Sr. and his son, Aurelio Jr. Junior initially pushed for a lighter style, which was met with resistance from his father. Eventually, Aurelio Sr. relented, and they selected the best grapes from the Apalta vineyard for this wine, now in its third vintage. 

The 2020 Wings was a personal favorite. 

Beneath the blueberries and blackberries lies a layer of black chocolate and mint, followed by delicate herbal notes. The juicy and elegant creaminess creates a firm, complex mouthfeel, enhanced by refined, well-integrated tannins.

• Montes Purple Angel 2021 – D.O. Valle de Conchagua 

The winery’s iconic wine.  

Comprised of 92% Carménère and 8% Petit Verdot, 70% of the wine is aged for 16 to 18 months in new French oak, while the remaining 30% is aged in second- and third-use barrels. Purple Angel 2021 is bold, complex, and velvety, with minerality and a dense, even tight structure. It exhibits notes of dried fruits, dates and figs, exotic spices, dark chocolate, and mocha. The finish is refined, with pronounced but silky tannins and delicate bitterness. This wine has great aging potential of 10 years or more.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Montes Wines has significantly contributed to the re-establishment of Carménère as a key grape variety in Chile. Over the past 30 years, they’ve fine-tuned their approach to this challenging grape, producing wines that reflect its distinctive character. 

From the approachable Limited Selection to the iconic Purple Angel, Montes showcases the diversity of styles this grape can offer. Today, Carménère has become a signature grape for Chile. Go grab a bottle for #CarmenèreDay on November 24th.

This article was written by our own Marc Roovers. We would like to thank Delta Wines and Montes Wines, in particular Eduardo Stark, for their invitation and the wonderful event. Montes Wines is imported in the Netherlands by Delta Wines and is widely available through retail and hospitality partners.