Purple Angel Carmenere

Producer history

Viña Montes was founded in 1988 in Chile by four partners — winemaker Aurelio Montes, along with Douglas Murray, Pedro Grand and Alfredo Vidaurre — as one of the country's first dedicated premium wineries, at a time when Chilean wine had little international reputation for quality. The company built its reputation through wines like Montes Alpha (first vintage 1987, predating the winery's formal founding the following year) before developing icon-tier bottlings, including Purple Angel, sourced in part from the Apalta estate vineyard the winery is closely associated with.

Signature pairings

• Grilled lamb skewers with herb marinade — Carmenère's dark fruit and slightly herbal, green-pepper undertone pairs naturally with grilled lamb's fat and char, a classic New World Carmenère match.
• Beef larb with light chili (ลาบเนื้อ) — The wine's ripe fruit and moderate tannin can handle mild chili and fresh herbs in larb, though a very fiery version would overwhelm the wine's fruit-forward profile, so heat should stay restrained.
• Dark chocolate dessert (low sugar) — Purple Angel's own chocolate and spice notes make a natural bridge to a not-too-sweet dark chocolate dessert, echoing rather than competing with the wine's flavor profile.