Montes Folly Apalta Vineyard Syrah
The winery was founded in 1987 by the visionary quartet Aurelio, Douglas Murray, Alfredo Vidaurre and Pedro Grand. Aurelio explains, “Our philosophy was simple - to produce excellent quality wines at a level which didn’t exist in Chile at the time.”
Aurelio Montes is widely credited with pioneering Chile’s quality revolution. His ability to identify potential in previously unknown sites, has led to the creation of appellations which now produce some of Chile’s finest wines. The Colchagua Valley is a perfect example of this. Aurelio first came to the area in his 20s and became fascinated by the then-barren landscape of Apalta, where Montes are based today. Apalta translates to ‘poor soils’, referencing the area's alluvial soils comprised predominantly of sandy loam and clay, as well as granite on the steep hillsides. Though a difficult environment for traditional agriculture, Aurelio sensed its potential for high-quality grape growing. Starting in these vineyards, he applied a rigorous, quality-focused approach to farming, resulting in low yields and perfectly ripe fruit.
The 2020 growing season saw a very dry winter. The low availability of water caused a very significant drop in yields, between 15-20% which impacted the final quality of the wines. Spring however, was free of frosts providing excellent growing conditions. High temperatures in summer accelerated the ripening process, resulting in an early harvest. The low fruit charge meant that the bunches were loose at harvest with small grapes, which had a positive impact on the concentration of aromas, flavours and colour of the resulting wines.
Grapes underwent a meticulous dual sorting process in the winery, once by machine using camera 'eyes' to reject less than perfect grapes, and once by hand. Only perfect berries made the final cut for this wine. Fruit underwent cold soaking for five days at 10°C to extract aroma and colour, before fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks for 12-15 days at 26-29°C. After malolactic conversion, the wine was aged in French oak barrels, 80% new and 20% third use, for 18 months before bottling.
This wine is a deep red in colour with purple hues. On the nose are intense aromas of ripe black fruits such as blueberry and blackberry, accompanied by notes of leather, black pepper and sweet spices. The French oak is very well-integrated and displays notes of tobacco, vanilla and toast. This wine is well-balanced, complex and elegant, with round tannins, tremendous structure, and a long and pleasing finish.
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