The art of Andes craft

A few weeks ago I was fortunate to meet Chilean wine producer Aurelio Montes who was making a flying visit to the UK. Flying visits are what Aurelio does quite well, since he not only makes wine in Chile, but also flits across the Andes every few weeks to check out his Argentina project Kaiken. He also finds time to have a project in California as well as take worldwide, whirlwind trips to promote his wines.

Montes is one of the original names from Chile. My first visit to this long, thin country was almost 20 years ago when there were just a handful of producers exporting their wines to the UK yet even then Montes was on the itinerary.

In those days it was a small operation, working out of a little office and a fairly old-style winery, but it has grown organically over the years and now has a splendid modern winery where the wines are aged in a cellar which echoes to Gregorian chants to infuse them with peace and harmony.

Unlike many of Chile’s wine businesses, there has been no vast supermarket business or huge building company pouring its wealth into Montes. It has taken years of careful planning and hard work to grow this company into one of Chile’s most recognisable quality producers.

Twenty years ago, as now, Aurelio was full of energy and on that first visit he promptly took me out in the vineyards to explain his philosophy of viticulture with particular emphasis on finding the right site for each particular variety. On subsequent visits, as the company extended its vineyard sites I was taken out to new areas and I remember one clamber up a freshly planted hill in Apalta, in the Colchagua region only to sink ankle deep in the thin, gravelly soil where new vines were struggling to gain a foothold. Aurelio carefully pointed out the breeze from the sea, the way the sun disappeared round the side of the hill during the heat of the day and the temperature difference between the top and bottom of the slope. Clearly if these vines ever managed to grow the grapes would have a long, slow ripening and so, he hoped, greater intensity of aromas. I am pleased to report that the vines did get established and are now contributing exceptional aromas and flavours to some of the top wines in the range. “Wine is made in the vineyard not in the winery. The grapes must have the right flavours before they can be made into quality wines,” he said, before I slid back down that steep slope.

This fascination with site selection has continued over the years and now Montes has expanded his vineyards even closer to the sea at Marchigüe where he has a 350 hectare estate, and even closer to the sea at Zapallar where he has pioneered the planting of vines just four miles from the Pacific. The vines are tightly packed into the vineyard at an astonishing 16,000 vines per hectare which is about double the number of vines in most quality vineyards in France. These have to be grown on poles because they are just too tightly packed to be trained on wires. The idea behind close-planting is to increase competition between the vines to restrict vigour and so concentrate flavours in the grapes.

Morning fogs, cool nights and the granite soil of this region provide a unique environment for these vines and the resulting wines are intense and balanced.

Because of the remoteness of the site, the range of wines from the Zapallar vineyard have been launched as Outer Limits and are described as “Montes beyond frontiers”. There is even a silhouette of a gaucho-like character on the label although he seems to have lost his horse.

It was this range of wines that Aurelio particularly wanted me to taste, but while I was in tasting mode I worked through a fair selection of the range as well. Here are my notes.

Outer Limits Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Zapallar

This wine just bursts out of the glass with pineapple, lime and passionfruit aromas, but then it closes in on the palate, becoming tighter and minerally with crisp, lively acidity and a firm crunchy finish. It is so new that it doesn’t have any local stockists yet, but will retail for about £17 when it does. This is a challenging price for a Chilean Sauvignon, but it is definitely the best one I have tasted.

Outer Limits Pinot Noir 2011, Zapallar

Most Chilean Pinot is either light and fruity or hefty and dull, but this is neither. It starts with smoky notes which move into deep, dark cherry aromas with strawberry notes and rounded, silky tannins. Totally delicious, it could do with another year or so in bottle to really develop but I suspect that so little was produced that it really won’t get the chance. Again it has yet to arrive on our shelves but the quality is setting a new benchmark for Chile.

Zapallar CGM 2010, Apalta

With blackberries and dried fig aromas and spicy notes on the palate this is a totally different taste experience from Chile. These grapes are relatively new for Chile and they work well together. The price tag might be a challenge but the quality is certainly there. Try Corking Wines (01904 622574) at around £30 a bottle.

Kaiken Cabernet Sauvignon 20109, Argentina

The wine is named after a goose that regularly flies over the Andes, just like Aurelio Montes. This is smooth with deep cassis flavours and supple, structuring tannins and is great with a steak. Find it at Bon Coeur (01765 688200) for around £9.44.

Kaiken Malbec 2010, Argentina

Deep, dark black cherry and bramble 
fruit overlaid with liquorice and spice. Rather more finesse than many of the Malbecs that are out there and still great with red meat. Try it at £9.44 from Bon Coeur.

Montes Alpha Merlot 2009, Chile

There is a whole series of Alpha wines which have improved in recent years and become more fruit-driven but still structured and restrained. This is lush with blackberry fruit and silky, pliable tannins. One of the best Chilean Merlots around. Martinez Wines (01943 600000) at about £12.49.

Purple Angel 2010, Apalta, Chile

Made from 92 per cent Carmenère 
and just a splash of Petit Verdot this provides a taste of Carmenère unlike any other. Deep-flavoured with intense, concentrated fruit it is a serious, structured full-flavoured wine. Majestic £30.

Montes Reserva wines, a Cabernet and 
a Chardonnay are also available in Waitrose, providing a good introduction to this range at 
about £9.