Montes Taita: Chile's first 'super icon' wine?

Prestigious Chilean producer Montes has released its first “super icon” wine onto the market. The estate’s co-owner and chief winemaker Aurelio Montes launched the wine – Taita – which is specifically being aimed at Asian consumers, at Vinexpo in Bordeaux this week. “I’m allocating the wine all over the world but a large proportion of it will go to Asia,” Montes said.

Just 3,000 bottles of the inaugural 2007 vintage were made, and future vintages of the wine will only be made in exceptional years, Montes confirmed to the drinks business. “With the 2007 vintage I chose to make the blend from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with the rest made up of Syrah and Carmenere, but it won’t be the same every year – nothing is set in stone. It depends which varieties performed well in the given year,” Montes said.

Named after a word used in South America to mean both “wisdom” and “father”, Taita was made in collaboration with Chilean terroirist Pedro Parra.

“Pedro spent three years analysing the micro terroirs of Marchigue in the Colchagua Valley where there are no rivers,” Montes told db.

“He discovered that an old glacier had formed and melted there thousands of years ago, bringing with it great quantities of alluvial material, which has led to the formation of decomposed granite and clay soils,” he added. The 15.7% abv wine is made from a six hectare plot within a 700-hectare farm and spends two years in 100% new French oak and a further three years in barrel.

The grapes were dry farmed, with Montes explaining that he “wants to touch hell” and see how far he can push things without resorting to irrigation. According to Montes, putting the vines under extreme stress has resulted in a rich, full-bodied wine boasting notes of truffle, mocha, cedar, blackberry, blueberry and bitter chocolate.

In terms of its ageing potential, Montes predicts that Taita will cellar for at least 15 years. Each of the 3,000 bottles, priced at £180 a pop, are adorned with a copper figurine of Montes’ signature winged angel holding a goblet in one hand and a bunch of grapes in the other.