Drink Pink: 2007 Montes Cherub

As part of my own little Drink Pink
initiative, I’ve opened several rosés and wines that donate to Breast Cancer research in the last month. Truthfully, a lot of them have been disappointing. So instead of posting each not-so-great wine on its own, I’ll do a wrap-up next week.

For today, I’m sharing my all-time favorite pink with you. I originally
reviewed this wine back around Valentine’s Day, but it’s worth sharing.
This one is over and above my favorite rosé. It’s also really affordable, coming in around $14.00.

2007 Montes Cherub Rosé of Syrah

The cherub is actually a cartoon rendering by Ralph Steadman of Alfredo Vidaurre, a founding partner of the Montes winery.

Montes is a Chilean winery and this wine comes from their Archangel estate in the Colchagua Valley, close to the Pacific Ocean. This particular rosé is 100% syrah. The color is a ruby red, but still obviously a rosé. The particular color comes from the juice and the skins having a one night
stand. I’m not kidding. It’s called a vin de nuit – the wine spends one night only in contact with the red-grape skins.

On the nose I got, appropriately, roses. I still hate the cliche of roses on a rosé, but sometimes it happens. (A rose is rosé by any other name?) Of course, the scent wasn’t just floral, there was some undefinably red fruits on there too.

The taste and texture are what won me over. It’s a rich, ripe wine, filled with crisp cherries and raspberries. It’s also a wine with heft, dry without
tannins. There’s a lot of structure and balance and it completely fills up your mouth. There’s a long, pleasing aftertaste that still manages
to be gentle. I would go so far as to say this rosé is sophisticated.

At under $15, it’s also a great deal. Montes makes some great wines, including the equally affordable Montes Folly and the not-so-affordable but excellent Purple Angel.

The real endorsement? Even Kevin likes this wine, and as he likes to say, he’s still looking for his inner pink.

Rating:

_

Parts of this post originally posted on Feb 13, 2009

More from Wine Girl

• Drink Pink: 2008 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Blanc
• Pouring: Hahn SLH Pinot Noir
• Think Pink: 2007 Montes Cherub Rosé of Syrah « My Wine Education
• Drink Pink!
• Think Pink: Wölffer Estate 2007 Rosé

Wine Girl Recommends

• Review: Hamburger Mary’s (wine me, dine me)
• Review: Via Vite (wine me, dine me)
• Aqua now Ichiban (wine me, dine me)

One Response to “Drink Pink: 2007 Montes Cherub”

1. John says:

   October 31, 2009 at 11:29 pm

   Great pick! I loved it from the moment I had put it up to my nose (and my tongue soon fell for it, too).