I had an interesting conversation with a sommelier at the SAQ in Gatineau where I shop and tasted the Montes Purple Angel 2009 from their tasting bar. His opinion was that this wine was better younger and not cellar too long, he believed the wine would be fruitier and more enjoyable. Which is contrary to what I was told when I purchased the 2007 vintage of Purple Angel. I was told that this wine would be better in 4-5 years. Who is right? I found the 2009 vintage to be tight with very aggressive tannins. I had a seed of doubt in my mind so I decided to open up the 2007 vintage and explore.
This iconic wine from Montes, Purple Angel is a blend of 92% Carmenère and 8% Petit Verdot with maturation taking place in new French oak for 18 months . An impressive wine to be sure, very catchy label, big and heavy bottle, deep purple color with robust texture and flavours. This wine opens up with aromas of black cherry, blackberry, dark chocolate, tobacco, spices and burnt wood notes. On the mouthfeel, full bodied with alcohol coming in at 15%, low acidity and chewy tannins. This wine as medium length on the finish with concentrated dark fruit and toasty oak flavours. This wine got better as the evening continued, decanting would have been a good idea. My verdict, it needs another 2-3 years to shed some of its oak, to soften the texture and acquire more sophistication, finesse and complexity. An interesting and enjoyable wine but I am not sure it represents good value, score 91 points.
Purchased November 13, 2010 LCBO New Release (062364) at $49.95
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