Montes Alpha Purple Angel Carmenere 750 ml

The Purple Angel is composed of 92% Carmenere and 8% Petit Verdot (an increasingly important blending grape in Chile) aged for 18 months in new French oak before bottling without filtration. Purple/black in color, it has a splendid perfume of toasty oak, pencil lead, incense, sage, blueberry, and blackberry. Layered, bordering on opulent, this full-throttle wine has gobs of fruit, succulent flavors, and a long, pure finish. Cellar it for 5-7 years and drink it from 2015 to 2026. It is another example of just how good Carmenere can be when grown in the right terroir with extended hang-time.

– 93 points Jay Miller (Robert Parker, Wine Advocate)

A very ambitious style, with dark, exotic toast leading the way for fig sauce, currant paste and Turkish coffee flavors that manage to stay pure and driven. The long, very polished finish let a mineral note echo. Carmenère and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2011.

– 91 points James Molesworth (Wine Spectator)
About Montes Alpha:

Montes had its mindset to create better Chilean wines, an obsession. Montes then, lead the way venturing into the Apalta Valley and mountain slope plantations. Montes constantly sought quality, and became again a pioneer in Syrah plantations in Colchagua. Results surged faster than expected: the first ultra-premium (super-Chilean or icon) wine, the Montes Alpha M 1996 (a classic Bordeaux) was followed by another which has become a cult-wine, the Montes Folly 2000 (minimum production of 100% Syrah), and finally the first Chilean Carménère (over 75%) launched in May, 2005 and Purple Angel (Carménère 92%). Each and everyone became an immediate success for the specialized press and for our loyal consumers. Montes` blessing has been the achievement of everything they set out to do.

In 2005, they became the fifth Chilean bottled wine exporter; they achieved this on their own without seeking joint ventures or foreign consultancies of any kind, as has been the case of other wineries in the highest category. We are proud to state that Montes has been extremely successful, this has been the result of a group made up by Chileans, 100%, and the result of our own hard work.

Under the enlightened leadership of Aurelio Montes, the Montes winery remains one of the standard-bearers for Chilean wines. The Carmenere-based Purple Angel is one of the two or three best of its type; the Folly is arguably Chile’s finest Syrah, and the Montes Alpha M one of the Cabernet-based icons.
www.monteswines.com