Montes Alpha Series Chardonnay 2020
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James
Suckling - Vinous
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Brilliant, light golden-yellow color. The perfumed nose offers notes of cherimoya, ripe pineapple, while hints of pear and banana add complexity to the profile. The palate is focused with crisp acidity complementing a voluptuous structure and body. A certain mineral note, characteristic of the terroir, lingers on in the long and elegant finish.
Pairs well with white meat, fish, and pasta.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Focused and ripe nose full of lemon curd, jack fruit, fine lees and hints of cream and stones. A full-bodied chardonnay with a round, creamy palate, showing lots of flavors in a transparent and elegant mode.
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Vinous
The 2020 Chardonnay Alpha Special Cuvée from Zapallar, Aconcagua Costa, was 40% aged in new French barrels, the rest in used. Greenish yellow in the glass. The nose offers intense notes of wood, hazelnut, cedar and hints of vanilla, while white fruit makes an appearance after the creamed corn. Creamy, terse and lactic, it has an unctuous feel with late-arriving but vibrant freshness thanks to the terroir. A flashback to the 2000s.
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2022-
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With the release of the first Montes Alpha wine back in 1988, Montes became one of the first premium wineries of Chile. Their premise, a clear belief that Chile had an untapped potential as a producer of quality wines, made them a benchmark for other wineries to follow. Its original four partners' total involvement and the continuous help of the angels that decorate their labels was key to their success. Two decades later, Montes is the fifth most important winery of Chile where Aurelio Montes continues leading the winemaking area with the same passion as the first day. Hard work and total focus on quality has led Montes to be one of the most successful and respected quality-driven wineries in Chile as they continue pioneering and breaking new grounds in wine.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A region that has become synonymous with some of the best whites of Chile, the Casablanca Valley is full of dozens of bodegas who either grow fruit here or come from outside to source from local growers for their own white wine programs. The valley runs from east to west, which means that its westernmost vineyards receive the most cooling influence from the reliable afternoon sea breezes. The soils also tend to be heavier in clay in the west, whereas the eastern end of the valley is warmer and its soils are predominantly granitic. Sauvignon blanc thrives here, Chardonnay does well and Pinot noir is not uncommon.