Antu Ninquén Cabernet Sauvignon-Carmenère

Winery: MontGras - Antu Ninquén
Vintage: 2006
Location: Colchagua, Chile
Alcohol: 15%
Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenère
Ageing: 15 Months - 27 % American Oak, 73% French Oak
Tasting: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.

The inspiration of Hernán Gras, along with the “entrepreneurial vision” of his brother Eduardo and the “pragmatic business view” of partner Cristián Hartwig, brought the vision of Viña MontGras (MontGras Winery) to life in 1993. This was the first project of MontGras Properties.

What does Chilean wine have to do with Canada?  Well, in this case, quite a bit. Andrea Ilabaca (Public Relations Director for MontGras Properties) said that Hernán Gras, President and Winemaker of MontGras “lived for over 20 years in Canada. Till this day, he considers Canada “home” and returns at least 3 to 5 times per year as one of his daughters lives there.” While living here, Hernán worked at Brights Winery in Ontario and in 1992, “he returned to Chile to make his dream come true with MontGras, and now, Ninquén, Intriga and Amaral.”

That isn’t where the Canadian connection ends, however.  Ms. Ilabaca explained that the winery was designed by Sandwell Engineering, which has an office in Niagra on the Lake, Ontario.

Antu Ninquén means “Sun of the Mountain“.  Ninquén was the first mountain vineyard planted in Chile.  It isn’t easy growing vines under these conditions, but they knew that with patience they would have wonderful wines as a result.  The vines become stressed (which is a good thing) and they produce lower yields of fruit, but the fruit is laden with flavour and colour.

My suggestion would be to decant this wine for about 60 minutes.  The colour is going to be first thing you notice.  It is a beautiful deep ruby red colour with a pleasing purple overtone.  Before you have your first sip, experience the wonderful aromas coming from your glass.  You will smell lots of black fruit… cherries, blackberries and dried plums.  A bit of spice will be evident along with some nice vanilla and even some nuts.

Now here comes that first sip.  The tannins are positively there.  There is that wonderful flavour that you had a hint of from the aromas.  Savour the flavour. This is just a very pleasant wine that you could enjoy on its own or with some delicious food.  It is no wonder that this wine has earned notice by some of the people in the know.  For example:

90 Points - (Wine Advocate, October 2008)
Silver Medal & Best In Class - (International Wine & Spirit Competition 2008, U.K.)
89 Points - Buying Guide - (Wine Enthusiast, November 2008)

Food Pairing:

rack of lamb; filet mignon; game and game birds; herb crusted beef (esp. rosemary, thyme).  Be adventurous and try it with some Gorgonzola cheese or aged cheddar.

Come by and enjoy this fine wine on Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

CSPC: 729783
Price:

$18.99* (Minus Winesday 10% discount)

*Price Correct at time of printing.  Price subject to change without notice.

Next week we are travelling to the United States of America.

Tags: Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Chile

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Sherbrooke Sips with R&R. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.