May 17/10: Vina Montes tasting at Spoke Club

 The Time and Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2010  2 Pm to 4 PM

The Event: A tasting of recent Vina Montes wines with winemaker Aurelio Montes.

The Venue: Spoke Club

The Target Audience: wine writers

The Availability/Catalogue: some wines are here in Vintages or LCBO right now, others are coming later in the year. The agent is Whitehall.

The Quote/Background: Aurelio Montes spoke on organic methods in Chile and in his winery, and then led the wine tasting after an opening reception with Montes Cherub Rose Syrah 2009 (+37887, $14.95 Vintages). He spoke on the food pairing possibilities of the Cherub and on the Classics series.

The Wines:

 

**** Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Montes Folly 2006 Apalta Valley, $89.95 Vintages

-Montes Alpha M 2006 Colchagua Valley, $89.95 Vintages

 

***1/2 Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Montes Purple Angel 2007 Colchagua Valley, $49.95 Vintages late 2010 [carmenere]

-Montes Alpha Carmenere 2007 Colchagua Valley, $19.95 +143230

-Montes Classic Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 Colchagua Valley, $12.95 +157883 LCBO

 

*** Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Montes Classic Series Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Casablanca/Curico, $12.95 +159954 LCBO

 

The Food: shrimp in a basket, blue cheese, breads, glazed nuts, other cheeses, honey.

The Downside: for me, it was one of three events that harried day, so I was late in getting to the reception.

The Upside: a chance to taste upscale quality reds such as Alpha M

The Contact Person: Stephen.marentette@whitehall.ca.

The Marketing Effectiveness (numerical grade): 89

 

Chimo!  www.deantudor.com AND http://gothicepicures.blogspot.com