The highlight of Santiago’s portfolio is a non-vintage still red called Akel Kine.  This wine is currently aging in the bottles before release, and we finished our lunch with a preview of it.   Akel Kine is 90% Carmenere and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, that ages for 16 months in French oak.  Santiago has reserved proportionate blends from the best vintages of the past 10 years to include in the inaugural release.  This wine was thick, with a long, long finish.  Tea and sage grabbed my nose before dense berry, slate and leather grabbed my taste buds.  The last words I said to Santiago before I left the restaurant were, “I’ll take a case of that, regardless of how much it costs.”  He laughed me off, but I was dead serious.

Santiago currently has no plans to sell Akel Kine.  ”This is a showcase product.   At MontGras we are focused on producing high-quality wines at very approachable prices.  We made Akel Kine to show that the same fruit used to make our value wines can be used to make a luxury wine,” he said.

Santiago poured five wines from the MontGras line to pair with lunch at the Sou’ Westerner restaurant in DC’s Mandarin Oriental.  We started with his Sauvignon Blanc from Chile’s San Antonio Valley.  The vineyards are 10 kilometers from the pacific, meaning lower temps but lots of sunshine for the grapes.  The wine had a nice balance of acid and sugar, with meyer lemon on the nose and the palate.  The Reserva Camenère from Colchagua Valley was well made, with a balance of firmness and softness.  ”Camenère needs heat, and lots of it to achieve optimum ripeness,” said Santiago.  The Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon was supple and ripe, with strong blackberry flavor and minty overtones.  Santiago’s signature blend, Quatro, was well-rounded, fresh and modern.   A mix of Cab,  Camenère, Syrah and Malbec reflect the tutelage Santiago spent under Paul Hobbs, learning the importance of grape ripeness in avoiding green flavors.

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