2 Value Priced Wines from Montes Wines

I have tasted Montes Wines before and I am always amazed at the great quality coming Aurello Montes. It all began for them in 1988 when they realized their dream of crafting wines in high quality than the current standards and using sustainable methods.

This particular tasting was of their 2015 Montes Cherub which is a Rose of Syrah and 2013 Monte Twins which is a Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon blend.

Both of these wine retail for about $15.  They are a great value and taste good too!

The labels were designed by Ralph Steedman who also designed the labels for Flying Dog Beer. The story behind the angels are that Co-Founder Douglas Murray always believed angels protected him.  He wanted the angels to protect Montes, so he put the angel on the label.

The 2015 Montes Cherub Rose of Syrah smells like summer.  That is what I thought of when I first smelled the aromas. Very ripe fresh berries and hints of watermelon, black currant and rose petals. Not to mention the deep dark pink color that comes from the pressed grapes.  In your mouth think Jolly Rancher.  Red raspberry begins to come through on the palate and the wine has a very long finish with a hint of tartness.  This wine is not sweet with only .4% residual sugar. This wine will pair well with salmon, tuna tartar, to name a few.

The 2013 Montes Twins is a Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon blend that is 50/50 each.  47% of the wine was aged for 10 months in first used French oak barrels.  The wine was a bit tight when first opened. You need to let it breathe for a few minutes to get the aromas and juices flowing.  Once the juices are flowing I smelled aromas of sweet spices, blackberry with some tobacco and cedar notes.  There were quite a bit to tannins on the palate and the wine was a bit fruity but well balanced.

Montes Wines are a wine brand to look for and watch.  Good things are yet to come.  Perhaps some more blending of the wines.

Here's a video to watch from Periscope that I did of the tasting.  I promise I will get better at it.

 

The Wines of Northern Rhone

If you like the Syrah, welcome to it's birthplace, the Northern Rhone region of France.

There are 5 main areas that produce Syrah each with it's own characteristics defining them.

• Cote Rote - Northern most region. Produces only red wines. Growers can ferment the Syrah with Viognier.  Soil consists of shist, limestone which produce elegant and soft wines. In the northern part of the appellation the soil is clay. It is these terriors that contribute to the wine that is produced.
• Hermitage - This regions produces both red and white wines. Here the Syrah can be blended with up to 15% Marsanne or Roussanne. For the white wines, Marsanne is usually the primary grape.  The soil is very complex.
• Cornas - 100% Syrah produced here with no blending of the grapes.  The soil structure is granite. 

The above three appellations produce the Syrah used in Rhone AOC wines

• Crozes Hermitage - completely different from the Hermitage region.  It's location is flat.  Here it is more about the fruit than the soil.  They produce Syrah wines with good acidity and are easy going wines.
• Saint Joseph - This is a name not associated with a village or city.  The soil here is granite and the vineyards receive the morning sun, but it seems to disappear in the afternoon.  The wines from here tend to have tight tannins but is a fresh wines.

Condrieu is the main appellation in the Rhone that produces Viognier.

For more detailed information please view the video below produced by the Guild of Sommeliers.

Northern Rhône from guildsomm on Vimeo.