Montes Alpha Special Cuvée Carmenère 2022

A very ripe, delicious carmenere that shows lots of paprika, blackberries, tobacco ashes, tapenade, subtle dark chocolate and graphite. Super silky and opulent on the palate with melted tannins that extend to a lengthy finish. Lots of pleasure here. Hedonistic but never over the top. Carmenere with 5% merlot and 5% cabernet franc. All from Marchigue. Drink or hold. Score – 95. (Zekun Shuai, jamessuckling.com, Feb. 12, 2024)