98 Point Purple Angel Pre-Arrival – Lowest Price in the Country!! (2024)

“This has a perfect nose of blackberry, tar, black pepper, thyme, cloves and rose petal. Full body and firm and very silky and polished tannins. The finish goes on for minutes. Best ever. Great class. 92% carmenere and 8% petit verdot. Drink in 2019 but so gorgeous now.” – James Suckling, May 2017

“If you feel like a big, ripe and well-oaked red, the 2014 Purple Angel is for you. It's super-premium Carmenere with some 8% Petit Verdot. Very dark, opaque, brooding and dense, itboasts plenty of balsamic and smoky aromas and a powerful palate with fine-grained, abundant tannins. There are tons of black fruits and spices from the 18 months in spent in brand new French oak barrels. 96,000 bottles produced.” – Luis Guitiérrez, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, April 2017

FROM THE WINERY

This superb wine represents a whole new dimension for Carmenère, the long-lost grape variety that recently resurfaced in Chile after being presumed extinct in Bordeaux, its original home. In Chile, we consider it our ‘signature’ variety and call it the ‘Jurassic Park’ grape that returned from the past. Montes were pioneers on the Chilean wine scene when we created oursuper-premium wines: the Montes Alpha range, and icons Montes Alpha M and Montes Folly. Montes also led the way to quality by planting vineyards on steep hillsides. But we also know when to wait.

Denomination of Origin: Marchigüe Vineyard, Colchagua Valley.
Clone Selection: Clones developed by the Catholic University of Chile.
Filtration: Moderate filtering through micropore filters.
Grape Varieties: 92% Carmenère - 8% Petit Verdot.
Barrel Aging: 100% of the components of this wine were aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels.

Tasting Notes: Impressive and very deep garnet red color.Tremendous aromatic intensity with a predominance of ripe red and black berry fruit intermingled with aromas of sweet spices and pastries. The aromas contributed by the French oak meld very well, lending subtle notes of dark chocolate and vanilla accompanied by well-balanced toast. The palate is very well structured with very smooth tannins that lend breadth and complexity. This is a wine with juicy acidity, generous volume, and flavors in line with its aromatic profile, ending with a long and elegant finish.

Harvest
Harvest Date: May 1–10.
The 2013–2014 season was marked by a series of frosts that began in the second half of September and affected a large part of the country, although primarily concentrated in the areas closest to the sea, and to a lesser degree, to the Central Valley. In the Colchagua Valley, somesectors of the Marchigüe area were affected, which slightly reduced the yields of Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo. There were no significant frosts in Apalta, however, and therefore the phenological stages progressed normally.

In addition to being cold, the winter was also very dry. Total precipitation was at least 30% less than in a normal year both in Apalta and Marchigüe. The early phenological stages began at least two weeks later than usual due to the cold conditions in the spring, but a very hot summer led to an acceleration in the ripening of the berries. The Carmenère harvest took place on dates similar to those of the previous year.
This season’s naturally low yields helped the fruit maintain good health. The Carmenère reached harvest with small berries on loose bunches with good color concentration and optimal phenolic maturity.

Vineyards
The vineyards destined for our Purple Angel are located in the Marchigüe and Apalta sectors of the Colchagua Valley. The soils are of granitic origin and vary in their clay content, amount of organic matter, depth, and especially in the types of stones of fluvial and glacial origin, which reflects the tremendous diversity of soils in our vineyards. Apalta has very heterogeneous soils and zones that are highly influenced by the Tinguiririca River and others that are the product of floods and the detachment of material from high above in the mountains. The soils tend to be deep on the plain and thinner at the foot of the mountain and upper areas. In the case of the Carmenère, the vineyards are preferably planted in the flat zones, where the soil is deeper and has moderate moisture retention. Marchigüe is flatter and has lower hills with moderate slopes. Its soils are shallow—in some cases no more than 60 cm—withmedium clay content and a high capacity for water retention.

FROM THE IMPORTER

About Viña Montes
Viña Montes is a modern-day success story. Started in only 1988, Montes has quickly realized the dream of its founders: pioneering the production of premium quality, “first-growth” Chilean wine respected by critics and trade, while elevating the winemaking profile of Chile on the world stage.

Reaching such lofty goals in a very short period of time makes one wonder if the original founders Aurelio Montes, Douglas Murray, AlfredoVidaurre and Pedro Grand had an angel watching over their endeavor. The team at Montes believes they do. In fact, the Montes angel featured prominently on its labels represents a guardian spirit behind Montes’ continued success, and symbolizes the communal spirit among members of the Viña Montes “family”.

Celestial intervention aside, Montes has also achieved its great success through leading, not following. From its inception, Montes has been an innovator in the Chilean wine industry. While other wineries planted their vineyards on the valley floor, Montes planted on the hillsides, employing drip irrigation. This resulted in smaller yield, higher quality grapes; ideal for creating wines like Montes’ signature Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon. Montes was also the first to plant Syrah in Colchagua, the source of its award-winning Folly. More recently, the winery has made a strong commitment to sustainability, employing dry farming techniques at itsvineyards. Vines are irrigated naturally by the winter rains, receiving only minimal supplemental irrigation in low precipitation years. This decreased Montes’ water usage by nearly 65%, setting a new benchmark for Chilean wineries.

Through great sacrifice, hard work, and a dedication to quality over quantity, Montes has been able to take its wines to the four corners of the globe, showcasing the best Chile has to offer to wine lovers worldwide. Share in the Montes dream, and experience a taste of heaven in every glass.