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Montes Alpha Merlot Colchagua Valley 2015
RedChile2015
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-11-13 · Published 2026-09-09 · Updated 2026-09-09
At a glance
I could not find a major-publication score for the 2015 Merlot · no critic listed on Vivino · the Alpha Cabernet and Carmenère routinely score in the low 90s from James Suckling
Market note: Of the eight Montes Alpha wines (Cabernet, Carmenère, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay), the Merlot sells less in Korea than the Cabernet and Carmenère. Across all vintages the label has 12,000 Vivino ratings and has barely moved from 3.7–4.0 in twenty years. Montes exports 95% of its production to some 110 countries; by sales Korea ranks second after China, and first per capita (interviews, 2025–2026).
What this wine is
There is a saying in Korea: 'You may not know wine, but you know Montes.' Montes was founded in 1988 (the groundwork was laid in 1987) by four people — winemaker Aurelio Montes, marketer Douglas Murray, finance man Alfredo Vidaurre and technical director Pedro Grand. In a Chile that made nothing but bulk wine, it was the first house to set out to make premium wine for export, and the first Montes Alpha Cabernet was where it began. The angel on the label is the guardian angel Murray believed in all his life. Steep hillside vineyards in Apalta, Colchagua, the planting of Syrah, and the top labels Alpha M, Folly and Purple Angel followed; today 95% of production goes to some 110 countries.
Korea is special even by those standards. Nara Cellar has imported Montes for 26 years, since the late 1990s; in April 2019 Montes became the first single wine brand in Korea to pass 10 million cumulative bottles, reaching 16 million in April 2024 and 17 million by July 2025. By sales Korea is Montes' second-largest market after China, and the largest per head. Being served at the 2005 APEC leaders' dinner in Busan and the 2019 Korea–Chile state banquet has become part of the brand story too.
The Montes Alpha Merlot is one of the eight Alpha wines, sourced from the El Arcángel estate at Marchigüe in Colchagua, on decomposed granite. I could not find a technical sheet for the 2015; going by Vivino's registered composition and the Korean trade listing it is 90% Merlot and 10% Carmenère, 12 months in French oak, 14% alcohol. The current release (2021) has moved to 10% Cabernet Franc from Apalta in place of the Carmenère, with only 55% of the wine going into barrel. The producer's note: "Ruby red. Concentrated fruit, a noseful of black cherry, hints of black pepper, notes of tobacco and sweet chocolate."
What the world says
I could not find a critic score for the 2015 Merlot. Where the Alpha Cabernet and Carmenère collect low-90s from Suckling every year, the Merlot is the quiet label that the critics rarely get around to.
The Vivino community of 970 averages 3.8, with 63% at 4 stars or above and 34% at 3. All 12,101 ratings across vintages also average 3.8, and from 2002 to 2022 no vintage average has strayed outside 3.7–4.0. Tasting the same for twenty years is this wine's identity. In the keywords oak, vanilla, tobacco and chocolate (528 mentions) come ahead of the fruit (394): plum, blackberry and blackcurrant, then leather and smoke, pepper and mint. The structure is the interesting part — intensity 3.9 but tannin 2.0 and acidity 2.0. Big on the nose, soft on the palate, which is why 'smooth' recurs in review after review. Several reviewers call it 'a Merlot with a Carmenère character'.
"A really nice Merlot from a top producer. Lovely plum and spice on a moderate finish. Very smooth with very good structure. Great value." — Vivino review, Mar 2019, 4 stars
"Montes equals quality. A Merlot with a Carmenère character — big ripe red fruit, herbs, spice and smoke. Full body, good density, juicy finish." — Vivino review, Oct 2018, 4 stars
"Deep ruby. Dark fruit and green bell pepper on the nose, blackberry, blackcurrant, coffee and tobacco. Medium-bodied, medium-plus acidity. Like a lighter Carmenère." — Vivino review, Mar 2019, 3.75 stars
How I drank it
November 13, 2019, 3 stars. "Typical merlot."
That was the longest day in my records. Sixteen bottles: Almaviva (4.5), Veuve Clicquot (4.5), Two Hands Shiraz (4.5), Juan Gil Blue Label (3), Mouton Cadet (3), Kendall-Jackson (3), all the way down to Graham's Six Grapes port (1). Most of the notes are two or three words. The Montes Alpha Merlot was ninth of the sixteen, with Almaviva and the Tarapacá Gran Reserva (3.5) alongside it. Next to Chile's grandest Cabernet, Chile's best-known supermarket Merlot was never going to get more than 'typical'.
Still, I think the note was an accurate description rather than a dismissal. What the community data describes — oak and vanilla out in front, a soft wine at tannin 2.0 and acidity 2.0, a label that has not moved from 3.7–4.0 in twenty years — is the very definition of a typical Merlot. No faults, no surprises. The 0.8 gap between the community's 3.8 and my 3 was made by that night's company, not by any flaw in the wine.
What happened afterwards is the interesting part. Three weeks later I gave the Montes Alpha Cabernet 2017 3.5 ('good balance, vanilla'); on New Year's Day 2020 the Alpha M 2015 got 3.5; in 2023 Purple Angel 2018 got 4; in 2024 the Alpha Cabernet 2020 got 4. Over five years my Montes scores climbed from 3 to 4. The wine did not change — I came to see 'dependable' differently. The strength of a brand that has sold 17 million bottles is not a high ceiling but a high floor. I doubt the Merlot would get more than 3.5 from me on a re-taste, but when someone asks for 'a ₩30,000 Chilean red that won't let me down', this is still the label I name. Beside a supermarket galbi-jjim (braised short ribs), it is the better fit than Almaviva.
Vivino community data
2015 vintage rating distribution (970 ratings, average 3.8)
| 5★ | 64 (7%) | |
| 4★ | 549 (57%) | |
| 3★ | 329 (34%) | |
| 2★ | 21 (2%) | |
| 1★ | 7 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 528 | oak 186 · vanilla 121 · tobacco 86 · chocolate 52 · coffee 25 |
| Black fruit | 394 | plum 112 · blackberry 90 · blackcurrant 65 · black fruit 34 · blueberry 25 |
| Earth & leather | 168 | leather 67 · smoke 42 · earth 28 · cocoa 7 |
| Red fruit | 151 | cherry 44 · red fruit 42 · strawberry 19 · red cherry 17 · raspberry 10 |
| Spice | 86 | pepper 39 · mint 14 · licorice 10 · cinnamon 6 · eucalyptus 6 |
| Bread & nuts | 17 | toast 14 · hazelnut 2 |
Structure: Acidity 2.0/5 · Intensity 3.9/5 · Tannin 2.0/5 · Sweetness 2.0/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 12101 ratings, average 3.8)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 4.2 | 51 |
| 2004 | 3.9 | 33 |
| 2005 | 3.8 | 43 |
| 2006 | 3.8 | 89 |
| 2007 | 3.7 | 161 |
| 2008 | 3.7 | 205 |
| 2009 | 3.8 | 356 |
| 2010 | 3.7 | 694 |
| 2011 | 3.7 | 733 |
| 2012 | 3.8 | 1096 |
| 2013 | 3.8 | 1287 |
| 2014 | 3.9 | 1086 |
| 2015 | 3.8 | 970 |
| 2016 | 4.0 | 622 |
| 2017 | 3.9 | 924 |
| 2018 | 3.9 | 1055 |
| 2019 | 3.9 | 585 |
| 2020 | 3.9 | 531 |
| 2021 | 3.9 | 821 |
| 2022 | 4.0 | 137 |
My original note (Vivino, 2019-11-13)
“Typical merlot”
Buying in Korea
Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Montes Alpha Merlot?
A full-bodied red from Montes in Chile's Colchagua Valley. 90% Merlot with 10% Carmenère (Cabernet Franc in recent vintages), aged 12 months in French oak, 14% alcohol. A smooth style where oak, vanilla and tobacco sit in front of plum and blackberry; Vivino 3.8 (2015, 970 ratings). One of the eight angel-labelled Montes Alpha wines.
How much does it cost?
Vinobot's street price was ₩35,000 (about US$25; a promotional price collected before December 2022). I could not confirm the current list price, but the Alpha Cabernet from the same range sells in the ₩40,000s (about US$30) at supermarkets, so expect something similar. Overseas retail is US$15–20. The importer is Nara Cellar.
What food does it go with?
Vivino suggests beef, lamb and veal. At tannin 2.0 and acidity 2.0 it is a soft wine that suits sweet-marinated Korean meat dishes — galbi-jjim (braised short ribs), bulgogi, yangnyeom galbi (marinated short ribs). One reviewer wrote 'great with meat and cheese, terrible with chocolate and sweet desserts'. Serve at 17–19°C; drinking window 2018–2028.
Why is Montes so famous in Korea?
Nara Cellar has imported it for 26 years, since the late 1990s; in 2019 it became the first single wine brand in Korea to pass 10 million cumulative bottles, and it reached 17 million by July 2025. By sales Korea is Montes' second-largest market after China and the largest per capita. Add appearances at the 2005 Busan APEC dinner and the 2019 Korea–Chile state banquet, plus the instantly recognisable angel label, and you get the saying 'you may not know wine, but you know Montes'.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Montes official — Montes Alpha Merlot 2021 technical sheet (vineyards, vinification, blend, oak)
- Korea Economic Daily — interview with Aurelio Montes Jr. (Korea second by sales, 17 million bottles)
- Le Monde Diplomatique Korea — Montes past, present and future (founding, angel label, 16 million bottles in Korea)
- Vinobot — Korean street price