Chile Day 9 - Montgras and Montes

Chile day 9 – Today was my M&M day. That is Montgras and Montes. Two premium wineries located in the Colchagua Valley in Chile. In the morning I met with Mr. Santiago Margozzini from Montgras. He led me through a tasting of their wines as well as drove me through part of their Ninquen vineyards. Most of their vines are located in the Colchagua valley, but they also have some vineyards in the Leyda and the Maipo Valley. Many of the wines I tasted I do not think are in BC yet, but may soon arrive. To keep the blog short, i'll keep my notes to one white and one red for each winery, with my full tasting notes to come when I'm back in Vancouver. From Leyda, I tried a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay. The Amaral Sauvignon Blanc 2009 is 100% stainless steel fermented. They tried to minimize oxygen content with the grapes using dry ice. The wine was only bottled one month ago, and I think i am one of the first few non Chileans to try this vintage. The wine has lots of lemon, lime and grapefruit aromas with a slight hint of greenness. On the palate it had high acidity, with more lemon, lime and grapefruit flavours. And a very long length. I tried 7 reds with Montgras. All but one came from the Colchagua Valley. The MontGras Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 was deep garnet in the glass. Vanilla, black fruit, black cherries, cassis and tarry aromas. It had lots of fruitiness on the palate, with flavours of black cherry, vanilla, cloves, and chocolate. The tannins were soft but still provided a dry finish.

The afternoon I dedicated to the Montes winery, and wine maker Mr. Aurelio Montes Jr. I had met Aurelio in Vancouver during the Wines of Chile events in September and arranged to meet him at the winery in October. Aurelio first drove me around the vineyard, pointing out the differences within the vineyard topography and how that influenced the varieties planted and how the vines were planted (e.g. training the vines, and vine density). After we toured the winery, then onto tasting his wines. Again keeping brevity, i'll only review one white and one red wine for the blog, with more to come. For the white wine, I tried the Montes Sauvignon Blanc Limited Selection 2009 from the Leyda Valley (FYI, i'm starting to really enjoy Leyda Sauv Blancs more than from other parts of Chile). This one had citrus, nettles, herbal and green chile aromas. On the palate the wine had citrus, and green chile pepper flavours. Light in body but long length. Pair with some seafood. I tried 7 red wines, but the one I will talk about is the Montes Alpha Carmenere 2007. This wine was deep purple in the glass. Capsicum, back fruit and vanilla aromas. On the palate I taste red and black cherries, vanilla and a slight hint of capsicum. This wine had a soft, round mouth feel and a long length. Pair carmenere with spicy Thai, Mexican or Indian food. I can't wait to try this back in Vancouver.

Thanks to both Santiago and Aurelio for showing me their vineyards and fine wines. Saludos!

Chile Day 7 - Maipo Valley

Chile Day 7, Half way through my visit to Chile and the wineries I planned to visit. Today I visited 3 wineries spread across the Maipo Valley, south of Santiago. The first winery of the day was Santa Rita. I've met two of Santa Rita's wine makers in the past through their visits to Vancouver, and now it is my turn to see the winery. Mr. Jose Ignacio Villalobo gave me a tour of their winery as well as pointing out the historical sites that are within the winery. One of the lines of wine is the “120” series. I'll write about it when i'm back in Vancouver, but if you are interested, please check out Santa Rita's website, www.santarita.cl. Mr. Villalobo had selected 5 wines for me to taste: 2 Sauvignon Blanc, 1 Carmenere, and 2 cabernet sauvignon. These wines were from their entry to to their premium levels. Although i can't take you through all wines from all 3 wineries in this brief blog, i'll point out a few wines. The Santa Rita Casablanca Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2008 had a mix of asparagus and citrus on the nose. Medium acidity, with more asparagus flavour as well as some herbaceousness and citrus. The wine had medium body and a bit of roundness. For a red, I'll point out the Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2007. This one was deep garnet in colour, with cassis, back cherry and a hint of vanilla on the nose. Lots of black cherry flavour, with a bit of meatiness. The tannins were medium and allowed for a smooth mouthfeel. Nice.

The second winery of the day was Vina Undurraga. Their grounds and winery were beautiful, just like Santa Rita. I'd love to just spend a day at each on their grounds enjoying the sites. At Undurraga I met with a wine maker named Pilar. She led me through a tasting of 5 different wines; 2 whites, 2 reds, and 1 sparkling. I found out that Undurraga has a range of sparkling wines. Hopefully we will get them in BC sometime soon. A white from Undurraga was the Sibaris Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from the cool climate, Leyda Valley. This wine was light lemon in colour. It had a sweet and saliness to the nose with lemon and a herbal note. It was quite high in acidity making it quite refreshing. I tasted green fruit, herbaceousness and some lemon. it had a long length with a spicy finish. On the red wine side, I enjoyed the Sibaris Carmenere, 2008 from the Colchagua Valley. This wine spent 23 months barrel aging in French and American oak. It was deep purple in the glass with good legs. It had tarry, meaty, cassis ad a bit of capsicum aromas. On the palate there as tar, vanilla and black cherry. It was quite smooth in the mouth with a slight peppery and dark fruit finish.

The third winery of the day was from Vina Tarapaca ex Zavala. This winery was a bit out of the way but well worth it. It has 8 km of private road that leads you to the winery. You drive through their vineyards along the side of the valley overlooking I think the Maipo River. Once there, there is beautiful grounds, and a private airstrip! Mr. Edward Flaherty, winemaker, led me through the tastings of his wines. Edward is originally from California, but has been living in Chile for many years. A white wine I enjoyed was the La Isla Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from the Leyda Valley. This wine ha a herbal nose with some green pepper, some floweriness and some lime. It had a ice round mouthfeel which was balanced with medium acidity in the glass. Green pepper and herbal flavours, with a long length. For the reds, I enjoyed the Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from the Maipo Valley. This wine was deep garnet in colour. very aromatic. Tar, ripe black fruit and cassis aromas. On the palate, there was tar, cassis, and black cherry. The tannins were medium, leading to a dry, sweet ripe black fruit finish. Very tasty.

That is all from the Maipo Valley. I'll provide full tasting notes for all the wines once i'm back in Vancouver. The next valley for me to visit is the Colchagua Valley. Saludos!

Santa Rita Winery event at Boneta

Last night was a lot of fun. I was invited to meet a new winemaker from Vina Santa Rita winery, Mr. Carlos Gatica Llop, retry their range of wines, and enjoy some food from Boneta Restaurant. Carlos is a very friendly guy, who has worked in France and Spain, before working for Santa Rita in Chile. He has his feet in both the Old and New Worlds.

For those that are not familar with Vina Santa Rita, it was founded in 1880 by Domingo Fernandez Concha. The winery currently owns vineyards in the Maipo, Casablanca, Rapel, Leyda, Lontue and Limari valleys. They own the 2nd largest vineyard area in Chile.

I was fortunate enough many years ago to meet Santa Rita's senior wine maker, Mr. Andres Ilabaca, during a South World Wine Society wine maker dinner at the Seasons in the Park Restaurant in Queen Elizabeth Park. Now I have met Mr. Carlos Gatica Llop, their newest wine maker. I couldn't get Carlos to pick a favourite wine from Santa Rita. To him it is like choosing your favorite child. All your children are your favorite. But I can pick a few of my favorites!

The Medalla Real Single Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 ($20.99) was wonderful. Opaque purple in the glass. Capscium and black fruit on the nose. Black fruit, licorice, and a bit of spice flavour. Smooth.

The Floresta Apalta Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 ($55.99) was also an excellent wine. It is from 100 year old vines. Earthy, rich nose. Black fruit and black cherry flavours. Medium/fine tannins.

Other wines that are worth a buy are:
- Pehuen 2005 ($55.99) a premium wine made with 85% carmenere and 15% cabernet sauvignon.
- Floresta Petite Sirah / Sirah 2003 and 2005 vintages are around in BC ($32.49). Lots of black fruit and licorice.
- 120 Sauvignon Blanc ($11.99) A really inexpensive sauvignon blanc with LOTS of flavour.

Boneta served a variety of salads, gnocci, sausages with chicken and white beans. All were delicious and paired nicely with the wines I tried. For more info about Boneta click here.