In my previous blog I took you through the reception, first and second course. To wind up this dinner at Saltaire with Aurelio Montes, we have the third and final course. Our third course was a slow braised lamb shank, with rosemary tomato jus, chatrelle, fresh tyme risotto and pattypans (a kind of squash). As you can excpect a slow braised lamb shank is going to be full of flavour and needing some big red wines to complement it. The two Montes wines we had were the2005 Alpha M and the 2005 Purple Angel. The Alpha M is 95 point WIne Spectator rated. This is a Bordeaux blend, primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot. Deep purple in the glass, with a round mouthfeel. Lots of dark fruit and spice, with a dry oak finish. The second wine was the Purple Angel. Aurelio Montes has many angels drawn on different wine labels for the winery. The angels take care of the winery. This one is primarily carmenere (Chile's signature grape) with a small amount of petit verdot for extra colour and tannin. Carmenere typically has a capsicum aroma/flavour and it was evident in this wine. But it also had cherry oak and vanilla. Both are big wines, but I think the Alpha M paired slightly better with the lamb shank.
The final course, is of course, dessert. Our dessert was everything to do with chocolate. There was a cocoa tulle, a dark chocolate truffle, pot du creme, and a peanut butter cup. What to pair with these chocolates? The Montes Folly. This is a 100% syrah. The story behind the folly has a few versions, with one being people telling Aurelio that syrah cannot ripen in Chile and that it would be a folly to try. Again this wine is deep ruby in the glass like the other big reds from Montes. Aromas of cassis, vanilla oak and licorice. Yet the tannins were very supple, which again is a trademark for Aurelio's reds. Red wine and chocolate are a great pairing and this worked very well with the dark chocolate.
Please take a chance and try one of the wines from Montes. You won't be disappointed. Enjoy!
