Chilean Values

I've long held the Montes winery in high esteem, and their Cabernet Sauvignon Classic Series, Colchagua Valley, 2006, the most economical Cabernet they offer,still has an evocative caramelized fruit nose and a palate of plums, prunes and cinnamon-laced chocolate. The tannins are well integrated, there's a hint of oak aging and a long and satisfying finish. Wines like this lay the market forces behind cabernet distribution bare. Take the word "Chile" off the label, and this fruit-forward wine, with its bright, sensual mouthfeel, would command far higher prices. Certainly it is a New World styled wine, but a toasty, balanced example of New World winemaking. I can see pairing this with any rich white meat, such as pork or veal, with its evocative wild mushroom quality, and I can even see it paired with a rare steak with minimal saucing. Like South Africa or Hungary, Chile is a wine-making region still recovering from the mediocrity-fueling conditions of despotism, but this wine, as much as the first Casa Lapostolle Cabernet I tried almost ten years ago, is both a stand-alone wine and a promise of wonderful things to come.