Napa Angel and Star Angel by Montes

      TGIC Importers hosted a tasting of some of their best wines at The Tasting Room-Uptown on Wednesday evening. On hand were some of the winemakers and winery representatives to answer questions about the various selections. With a line up of over twenty wines, the stand outs for me were the offerings from Montes USA. Winemaker Jorge Gutierrez was pouring tastes of four new wines being produced in Napa Valley and Paso Robles. Originally from Chile, Jorge is now enjoying living in California and was quite passionate about Montes' new wines.
     The 2006 Napa Angel Reserve is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with some Syrah. The grapes were sourced from various vineyards in Yountville, Coombsville and Oak Knoll. The higher end, Napa Angel "Aurelio's Selection" is 100% Cabernet sourced from premium vineyards in Oak Knoll and Yountville.
     The two wines from Paso Robles were the 2007 Star Angel which is 100% Syrah and the higher end 2007 Star Angel "Aurelio's Selection" Red Wine (my favorite of the evening) which is 94% Syrah with 4% Grenache and 2% Mourvedre.
     Due to the number of wines being tasted and the amount of time allotted, I did not make complete tasting notes. The common factors that these four wines shared were that they were each well-balanced with rich fruit flavors, soft tannins and long finishes.
     Welcome to America, Montes, I am delighted to have you here!

Related posting:
2006 Purple Angel Carmenere
2008 Montes Cabernet/Carmenere Limited Selection

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