Wine of the Week: Montes Vineyard's Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Chile) $23

Chief Winemaker, Aurelio Montes of Montes Vineyards, in Chile, has produced a must try premium red wine, Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon, from their esteemed Apalta Vineyard.

At Montes Vineyards they know what it takes to produce exceptional wines. It all starts with the pampered grape! I'm not kidding, these grapes are living the good life from vine to bottle. First, Montes recognizes that Chile is a blessed winemaking country, free from phylloxera, well-situated geographically for a plethora of terroir options, and recent capital investments ensure topnotch technology to handle the grapes. The grapes that contribute personality and pizzaz to this Cabernet Sauvignon are all night harvested - to pick the grape at its hydrated peak. The grapes are then handsorted and once in the barrels, the wine is surrounded in 24/7 Gregorian music. Now that's attention to detail! It's the quality details that make Montes Vineyards a major international contributor to the wide world of wine!

As for the wine's profile - the Montes Alpha Cab enjoys a deep garnet color, with rich red cherry fruit, wrapped in a subtle vanilla mocha envelope. The tannins are well integrated and offer the supporting structure to suggest that this wine will just get better with time. There is a hint of tobacco and touch of smoke on the well-rounded finish. A perfectly priced complement to buffalo steak, grilled game and other red meat favorites.