Montes Alpha M '05, Folly '05, and Purple Angel '05

I went to a Montes tasting the other day at the Bluebird Wineshop. Montes is one of the iconic wines of Chile, having been written up extensively in various publications as well as getting rave reviews in the Wine Spectator and winning numerous industry awards. I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Montes started out in 1988 and was one of the few Chilean wineries to focus entirely on import production. 90% of their production was for export and England was one of the first markets to benefit from this policy. Today they produce over 5 million bottles and export to over 92 countries, not bad for only being in business 20 years.

Montes is seeking to make the varietal Syrah the flagship grape of Chile. To this end, they presented their showcase wine, the Montes Folly, so named because the general consensus at the time they planted the vines was that they were crazy to try and produce a premium wine made from Syrah. We sampled the 100% syrah '05 Montes Folly. It opened with a full-on black fruit nose, juicy blackcurrants and blackberries predominating, with a tantalizing earthy minerality lingering in the air. It was fresh and lively, bright black cherries, morello cherries and again that earthy minerality shining through on a nicely balanced, clean, crisp wine. It didn't have the big fruity jamminess that many people associate with new world shiraz. And to differenciate themselves a bit more from the pack, they call the grape syrah (as they do in France) as opposed to shiraz (as they do in the new world i.e., Australia, US, etc).




The wine that everyone knows is the iconic Montes Alpha M. We tasted the '05 M. Composed of 85% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot and 5%petite verdot, this lovely is produced from a single vineyard at low yields and aged for one year in new french oak barrels. It had a deeply fruity, intense nose, blackcurrant leaping out of the glass with new oak aromas surrounding it. Blackcurrants were again evident on the very fruity but not sweet palate owing to the fabulous balance of acidity in the wine. It was also shot through with a loaminess that added complexity and finished with strong chocolate flavours that seemed to last for a very long time. Nice ripe tannins, very smooth and elegant.


The Montes Purple Angel '05 was my favourite because it had such a personality. It just jumped out of the crowd. Was it because it was 90% carmenere (a grape really only used in Chile today) or was it the petite verdot, a variety that is falling out of style as a blending grape even in it's native France. The nose was nothing like the others, starting off with a musky, red pepper, exotic spiciness with violets, paprika and delicate mint notes underpinning the aromatic structure of the wine. Moving the wine around my palate, black fruits, plums and red peppers sprang into action and there was a fabulous spicy finish to it all. This was a fresh and lively wine, rather frisky, up for anything. I loved it! An exquisite delight. A well balanced, lovely example of what can be coaxed out of carmenere given the chance.

Montes has a deservedly iconic reputation and these wines only served to show what can and is being done in Chile today. I can't wait for the next release.

Cuban Cigars and Delamain Cognac at the Bluebird

When Penny from the Bluebird wineshop told me she was hosting a cigar and cognac tasting, I was excited, a bit hesitant but also very curious to attend a cigar and cognac tasting because I'd never been to one. Although I love a good Cuban (cigar or otherwise), cognac has a rather fusty old image in my mind and I didn't really fancy sitting around all evening with grandfatherly figures discussing the merits of cognac. But it turned out to be a smartly casual affair with plenty of mingling and good conversation.

The event was presented by Amanda Laden from Delamain Cognac and Simon Chase the cigar expert from Hunters & Frankau. H&F also brought along the head of production for the Cohiba Cigar factory in Cuba, Eduardo Diaz, to demonstrate the fine art of cigar rolling. Eduardo spent most of the evening rolling cigars. I spoke to him afterwards and he told me that he's here for 2 months doing demonstrations for H&F. I was curious about the tobacco leaves he was using and asked him if he had brought them with him. He told me that the unrolled leaves are imported by H&F for him to use specifically to make cigars during these demonstrations.

We were treated to 3 XO or higher cognacs (XO signifiying that the cognac was aged for at least 6 years. No need to worry here as the youngest cognac was 25 years old) and 1 Hoya de Monterrey Especial cigar. Even though Eduardo was from Cohiba, we were smoking Hoyas because the big boss, Terence Conran -who was attending the tasting, prefers Hoya. Since there is an indoor smoking ban here in England, the tasting was held in the patio of the Bluebird. It was very nicely set up with small tables scattered about (adding to the informal atmosphere) and outdoor heaters nearby, although they weren't needed because it was a balmy evening and the rain had miraculously stopped.


We enjoyed champagne and canapes while we were watching Eduardo roll cigars before the tasting started. Amanda then began by explaining a bit of the Delamain history. Briefly, the house was founded in 1759 in the town of Jarnac, in Charente. Today it's now run by the 7th generation of the family, so they know a thing or two about Cognac. While we were sipping the cognac, Simon took the stage and explained the art of cigar rolling and smoking.

The 25 year old Pale & Dry XO was the youngest, the grapes being a blend of 100% Grande Champagne first growth - I know what you're thinking but Cognac is not from the Champagne region, Cognac country is situated south of Bordeaux. The Pale & Dry was matured in well seasoned Limousin French oak casks. I don't know a lot about Cognac, previously I considered it akin to firewater but this example was smooth, clean and elegant. It had a inviting fruity nose with undertones of caramel and toffee. Amanda said that there's no need to heat the glass as some people do, just sit back and enjoy. By this time we had lit our cigars and Simon invited us to take a puff and then a sip. It was fantastic. The cigar brought out the fruitiness of the cognac. Wonderful!

We then moved onto the 55 year old Cognac, the Vesper, again, a 100% Grande Champagne blend like the Pale & Dry but aged much longer. This one, to me, was the best, most complex of the three. The nose was quite floral at first, then layers of fruit, spice,toffee and vanilla followed by a light smokiness on the finish (and this was before I started puffing away). The palate followed through very nicely on the same themes. All the cognacs slipped effortlessly down with nary a backward glance and there was no burning sensation, just a nice warm feeling. The cigar certainly brought out a mocha finish to the cognac. I was definitely beginning to like the combo of cognac and cigars.

The last was Reserve de la Famille, made from 100% Grande Champagne grapes. It's not, unusually for a cognac, a blend, and it comes from a single vineyard and single cask. It's aged in the barrel until it has benefited from maximum aging. The minimum age of the cognac was 60 years. Previously it was produced only for the Delamain family and friends but is now available to the general public. I found it exceptionally soft and refined, very subtle with sweet spice, toffee and cinnamon. I was reminded of freshly baked apple pie as I sipped this one.


After the tasting, platters of charcuterie and cheese appeared and we were invited to eat and pair the cognac with the food. I paired the Vesper with a spicy sausage on offer and it went fantastically well, the cognac agreeing nicely with the black pepper of the sausage. I found it also went well with cheese and left an amazing dark chocolate finish. Delicious.

All in all a wonderful evening. I'm certainly glad that my curiosity lead me to this tasting. You know what they say, "Curiosity killed the cat....but satisfaction brought her back." Words I live by....


All the cognacs are available from the Bluebird Wineshop
All prices approximate
Pale & Dry XO - £75
Vesper - £95
Reserve de la Famille - £200

EWBC '08 and the Chapel Down '07 English Rosé

Rioja vineyard

On the plane back to England from the EWBC I was exhausted!! But what a weekend! I met loads of really great people, drank plenty of fabulous (and interesting) wines, visited some fantastic wineries, met the winemakers, had my eyes open to the possibilities out there regarding the web via the both the roundtable discussions and informal ones and generally had a blast. There was so much going on, I barely had time to catch my breath. But who'd want to stop with all the excitement surrounding us? The conference was extremely well organized and planned. It was such an exhilarating and febrile atmosphere to be a part of that I can't wait to attend the next one and I'm already planning on attending the USA conference in October.

(Gabriella getting an appreciative smack from Ricard!)

I have to give a HUGE thanks to the organizers, Ryan and Gabriella Opaz of Catavino and Robert Mcintosh of The Wine Conversation. And, a big shout out to Robert for his ability to get all us bloggers moving on time and in the right direction. I think I overheard him comparing us bloggers to herding cats but cats are much easier to direct!

The first night was the winebloggers invitational,whereby we each had to bring a wine that represented our area of interest or expertise. I had chosen an english rosé (made from the germanic variety, dornfelder) from the Chapel Down winery based in Kent, southeast England. What a reaction! That rosé definitely raised a few eyebrows and looks of disbelief. People had heard of English wines but those Continentals were rather dubious as to the quality of the wine. I found out later that not many had ever actually had the opportunity to try English wine before the conference.

Luckily, it passed with flying colours! I had tried it before I left so I knew that it wasn't bad but everyone else was surprised at the quality. I got quite a few positive comments from the others. So, score one for English wines! I think it convinced a fair amount of people that England is capable of producing quality table wines.

In case your wondering, here are my tasting notes for the Chapel Down English Rosé 2007:

A clear, pale, smoked salmon coloured wine. Upon pouring, the fresh summer smells of England seem to rise up from the glass. It reminded me of a summer's day after a sudden downpour in the park, you know, the clean scent of the air that follows a sudden rainstorm while your picnicking in the park (as so often occurs here) and after you've just run to the car and thrown everything in the backseat! Wet grass, a bit herby, red cherry and something akin to strawberries after they've been sitting in sugar and have gone all syrupy were some of the aromas that I detected.

It was however, quite dry and crisp. Plenty of fruit on the palate, strawberry tart with plenty of zippiness to keep it from becoming sluggish. There was also a hint of dill on the back of it and an apricot-like finish, which was quite long. I think this is a really great food wine, something to have with grilled salmon and boiled new potatoes tossed with dill. We had it with a hunk of mature english cheddar and bread and it was scrumpdiliumptious!

Thanks to Penny at the Bluebird Wine shop for recommending that one.

retail £11
alc., a light and lovely 11%