From the outset, the founders (Aurelio Montes and three others at Montes and Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle of Grand Marnier fame at Lapostolle) determined to work with nature, and to create wines reflecting their terroir and not their winemaker. Montes choose several vineyard regions, Zapallar just 4 kms from the coast in Aconcagua and hence much cooler for the production of quality white wines and Marchigüe and Apalta in the Colchagua valley for their premium reds (they were the first to plant Syrah in the region). Aconcagua lies just north of Casablanca, where land can be around $30,000 per hectare, yet it can reach $150,000 p/ha in Colchagua. Lapostolle next door knows the value of the area well, Apalta in the heart of Colchagua, provides the fruit for their fabulous ‘Clos Apalta’ Carmenere based blend. They too have other sites, including Casablanca for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Regulations in
Chile demand that a certain proportion of all hillsides remain untouched, even
if they are perfect winemaking land, Montes has taken this further and
integrated its vineyards into the folds and ridges of the valley, including
large areas of natural habitat in and around its vineyards. Often, where it is
of benefit to wildlife or flora, areas of bush or trees are left - even in the
middle of a vineyard, and corridors that encourage insects beneficial for
agriculture and which provide biological pest control run throughout. Special
bird boxes and perches encourage pest predator birds into the area. In Maule
some 400 hectares of forest have been conserved alongside their vineyard. The
trees in Apalta absorb all of the CO2 produced by Montes in both
their oenological and agricultural activities and that means that they are
carbon neutral there.
In the Montes Marchigüe
vineyards more than 350 animals, mostly llamas and sheep, graze the 200
hectares and provide weed control, enabling a 40% reduction in the use of
herbicides.
But it is in the
winery that Montesare truly pioneering. Built in 2004, Montes 2.3million litre
capacity winery was designed on the principles of fengshui.They are proud that,
‘all the prime elements – water, metal and wood – were incorporated into the
design in accordance with the principles of the Chinese system, ensuring
harmony in a positive atmosphere. At the entrance of the winery, a wooden
access bridge crosses a small lagoon, whose water flows towards the building in
accordance with the fundamental principle of fengshui, that prosperity will
only come if the water, representing energy, flows towards the building, not
away from it. By the water stand several centurian steam tractors – the
presence of metal. At the heart of the winery a fountain lies directly under a
lily-shaped skylight, representing the sun and moon: the point from which
energy is distributed, connecting the building to the outside universe’.
Everywhere there are fengshui elements, the maturing barrels form a semi circle (as they do at Lapostolle), like an orchestra on many levels, all facing a point where large red canvases hang, red giving life and energy. After research into the effects of various genres of music, watching the reacting wave emissions of sound energy in the wine, Gregorian Chant plays softly eighteen hours a day, over the barrels, imparting harmony and tranquillity. It works on the cellar hands as well, says Montes Director Dennis Murray. DeMorgenzon in Stellenbosch have been doing the same with Baroque music for a while and have speakers placed around the vineyard and in the cellar.
Both at Montes
and at Lapostolle, which is actually built into the hillside, gravity replaces
pumps. Both ensure careful selection of
grapes, and usually destem – by hand at Lapostolle. Montes pour the arriving
grapes through openings which contain thinly wired grills so that their own
weight squeezes them through and splits them as they pass; doing away with the
need for a press, and falling directly into their tank or French oak fermenter.
Lapostolle and Montes have a ‘hands off’ policy for winemaking; Lapostolle have
been Organic and Biodynamic for years, and both have extensive certifications
for Biodiversity, social awareness, emissions control, conservation and
recycling; Montes achieves the equivalent of planting 10,500 trees by recycling
its waste products.
Montes andLapostolle have managed to combine the most efficient,
modern and stylish facilities with traditional, low interference winemaking. Their
integration into the landscape, low impact on the environment, social
upliftment and production of premium wines is remarkable. Montes ‘Folly’, ‘M’
and Lapostolle’s ‘Clos Apalta’ reds are already icons, both achieving flurries
of awards and scores in the mid 90’s,I found the fruit purity stunning and
easily gave the ‘M’ 93/100 and the ‘Clos Apalta’ 94/100. Perhaps it is the Biodynamics or the
fengshui, but coming away from such welcoming and sincere receptions I
certainly felt calmer, and with a warm glow inside.