Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
20th August 2007
The best South American wines are still from Chile, whatever claims people make for Argentina. Of course there are some very good Argentine wines, and their numbers are growing. But a few excitable commentators are telling us that the Argentine industry will soon equal Chile’s and may even surpass it. Well, perhaps. I will take the claims seriously as soon as I taste an Argentine red on a par with Chile’s Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon. I am not expecting this to happen soon.
The Montes house began exporting this wine in 1987. It was a more or less instant hit, picking up hysterical reviews and fistfuls of awards throughout the world. At the time it seemed astonishing that such an elegant, perfectly structured wine could be sold so cheaply. Even now, facing vastly increased competition, it offers excellent value. The 2005 retails at around $17 in the US and £12 in the UK. I have drunk comparable wines costing twice as much.
Despite its name, the wine is actually 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. Its tannins can be a little sharp, but half an hour in a decanter will draw their teeth. In the glass the wine is dark and dense with ruby highlights, intensely flavoured and formidably strong at 14.5 degrees. Yet for all its power the wine is perfectly balanced, and gives a long, floral finish.
Following the Cabernet Sauvignon’s success, Montes added a Chardonnay, a Merlot and a Syrah to the Montes Alpha range. All are fine and sooner or later I shall review them here. But none seems quite as charming as the Cabernet Sauvignon. And the house’s star wine, Montes Alpha M, though impressive, offers nothing like the same value for money. It is the Cabernet Sauvignon I keep returning to, again and again.
