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Wineries · Colchagua Valley · Chile
Montes
Montes opens a Chilean conversation about Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, hillside vineyards and the places within Colchagua.
Photo: Hiroki Ogawa, 14 April 2014 (original upload date). Original photograph · CC BY 3.0. Resized; no generative changes.
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The quick profile
- Where to begin
- Colchagua Valley · Chile
- The producer
- Chilean producer with several vineyard origins
- A useful time marker
- Founded 1988
A first wine and a new business
The producer’s timeline dates the first Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon harvest to 1987 and the founding of the business to 1988. Aurelio Montes and Douglas Murray are central names in that beginning. Keeping the harvest and company dates distinct helps avoid a small but common confusion: a winery’s foundation and a wine’s inaugural vintage need not be the same year.
Put Apalta and Marchigüe on the map
Montes records acquiring Finca de Apalta in 1995 and a property in Marchigüe in 2001. Both belong to its Colchagua story, while the producer also works beyond the valley. A bottle’s stated origin matters more than the location of the cellar you happen to visit. Ask which site supplied the grapes before connecting a wine to a photograph of a famous hillside.
Read the wine before the reputation
Cabernet Sauvignon gives a familiar entry, with Carménère-led wines such as Purple Angel and Syrah wines extending the range. A named cuvée is not automatically a single grape. Compare the producer’s vintage information for composition, source and maturation. A founder’s ambition is an engaging story; the vineyard and cellar details show how a particular wine gives that ambition a practical form.
Three things to notice
- 1987 identifies the first Alpha Cabernet harvest; 1988 identifies the company’s founding.
- Montes the producer and Aurelio Montes the person have connected but different stories.
- A Colchagua image does not prove that Montes owns the land shown.
Try a little discovery
Choose one Montes Cabernet Sauvignon description and a Carménère-led blend. Write down the actual grape composition, vineyard origins and oak information. Which differences are documented? If you taste, describe fruit, acidity and texture separately before consulting the producer’s tasting language.
A few questions worth uncorking
Does every Montes wine come from Apalta?
Do not assume that. Montes has wines associated with several sites and regions.
Are Aurelio Montes Sr. and Aurelio Montes Jr. the same person?
No. They are father and son; distinguish their names and roles when reading producer information.
Follow the connections
Behind this introduction
Sources checked 16 October 2026. First-hand accounts supply historical and technical context; discovery exercises are Talk to the Cork editorial interpretations. Check the producer’s information for a particular wine, vintage or visit.