Taita Hills

Tasting note Montes Taita

A deep ruby red wine with an impressive aromatic palette of blackcurrants, ripe cherries, plums, and figs. Refined notes of cedarwood, tobacco, coffee, dark chocolate, roasted nuts, and vanilla also emerge. The taste is powerful and layered, with silky-smooth tannins, impressive concentration, and an exceptionally long, elegant finish.

Decanting for at least 1 hour is recommended to allow the wine to fully reach its potential.

Cellaring potential

This wine has a cellaring potential of 20 years or longer and will develop into an even more complex and refined wine over the years.

Food pairing

This iconic Montes Taita deserves a special dish. It pairs beautifully with grilled côte de boeuf, ribeye, or Wagyu beef. Rack of lamb with fresh herbs, venison loin, slow-cooked stews, and aged hard cheeses also make for a magnificent combination. Thanks to its complexity, Taita is also a wine to be savored slowly, without a meal, in good company.

Other information

Montes Taita is the flagship wine of the Montes winery and belongs to the absolute pinnacle of the Chilean wine world. The wine comes from one special plot in the Marchigüe Valley, on the western side of the Colchagua Valley, just 25 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to the granite-rich soils, the cool coastal climate, and extremely low yields, the result is a wine with exceptional concentration, elegance, and complexity. Taita is produced exclusively in the best vintages and in a very limited edition (only 3,788 bottles in 2020).

After strict selection, the grapes are processed exclusively by gravity to ensure minimal damage to the fruit. Fermentation takes place using indigenous yeasts, followed by 24 months of aging in primarily new French oak barrels. The wine then matures for another 10 months in large wooden foudres and at least two years in the bottle before it is released to the market.

Only about 3 tons of grapes per hectare are harvested for Taita. That is less than half of what is customary for quality wines. The low yield ensures an enormous concentration of aromas, flavor, and structure. Moreover, the wine is only released after years of aging in barrel and bottle. This is a wine for the true connoisseur!

Wine scores/awards

• 🏅 98 points – James Suckling
• 🏅 97 points – Descorchados
• 🏅 96 points – Vinous (Joaquín Hidalgo)

Fun fact

'Taita' means 'wise father' or 'respected elder' in various South American cultures. The name symbolizes the years of experience and vision of Aurelio Montes, one of the pioneers of modern Chilean winemaking.