Montes Limited Selection Aconcagua Costa Pinot Noir 2023
Ruby red in colour, a fruity nose with sweet notes of fresh strawberry and sour cherry. Wild herb aromas mingle with floral and caramel notes. Well-integrated oak adds elegance and complexity – lightly toasted hazelnut and vanilla notes and very gentle tannins. A vibrant palate with plenty of red fruit, rounded tannins and a balanced, lingering finish.
Fruit comes from the Casablanca and Leyda Valleys, sub-regions of Chile's cool Aconcagua Costa region. Casablanca is 25 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean, where the morning fog and cool breezes extend the ripening period, allowing for the development and retention of delicate aromas and acidity. This is an important factor in making fine Pinot Noirs. The Leyda Valley is nine kilometres from the ocean, with predominantly granite and clay soils, which impart a brilliant freshness and minerality to the wine.
The grapes were harvested by hand into 12kg crates in the early hours of the morning. Upon arrival at the winery, bunches were carefully selected, destemmed and placed into open-top stainless steel tanks, where they were cold soaked at 7°C for five days to extract aroma and colour. This is especially important for thin-skinned Pinot Noir. After that, the grapes were fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and then kept on their skins to give structure and colour for another 15-20 days. After malolactic conversion, some of the final blend was aged in French oak barrels for 10 months, while the rest remained in stainless steel tanks before bottling.
