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Wine Reviews: Concha y Toro > Don Melchor

Don Melchor was hailed the best Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile by both the Wine Spectator and Robert Parker. Named after the founder of the winery, Don Melchor de Concha y Toro, the wine has become a symbol of the best the land and the winemaker's hand can produce in Chile.

DON MELCHOR
Estate Bottled - Single Vineyard
Region: Puente Alto Vineyard, Maipo Valley, Chile
Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Production Technique: Vines planted in 1979 are harvested by hand, and after fermentation, the wine is aged in French oak for 14 months (60% new, 40% used once). It is then bottle aged a further 12 months before release.
Description: Color: Deep-ruby red.
Bouquet: Ripe plums, cassis, chocolate and tobacco, accompanied with notes of vanilla.
Taste: Elegant, full-bodied with mature tannins which make the wine complex and pleasant.
Alcohol Content: 13.6%
Total Acidity: 3.5 g/l

The Puente Alto Vineyard in the Maipo Valley has the perfect combination of climate and soils for producing world-class wine: the climate is ideal and predictable, and the soil is poor and gravelly to reduce yields and increase concentration naturally. After fermentation, the wine is matured in the finest French oak barriques for 14 months, followed by another year in the bottle before release.
Ripe fleshy fruit and berries lead off this highly aromatic wine. Later, the tobacco and chocolate come through and marry with the vanilla. Agreeable, mature tannins elegantly convey the best expression of the Puente Alto vines. The pleasant, long finish displays great harmony and balance.

The result is a rich, full-bodied wine with unmistakable character in the bouquet and on the finish. Drink with any hearty dish, lamb, steak, and strong cheeses.

Reviews

Don Melchor Private Reserve 2003

"Heady, uplifting aromas of plum, blueberry and new oak show a defined mintiness. Big flavors replicate the nose. Spicy, lasting finish with highlights of mint, evergreen, oak and black fruit." 92
WINE NEWS - September, 2006

Don Melchor Private Reserve 2002

"Ripe and focused. A pure beam of black currant and plum fruit layered with cocoa, mineral, loam, tobacco and toast." 92
Wine Spectator - May, 2006

"Full bodied with dense, black cherry and dark berry fruit, chocolate, fig, rosemary, and menthol; fine tannins with a long finish. Porterhouse. Can serve now, but will improve with age." Gold Star
Santé - May, 2006

"Earthy and real, with strong hints of menthol, forest floor, cassis and other concentrated berry notes. Ripe on the palate with a bit of berry candy balanced by cola, toast and vanilla. Solid by any first-class standards, with firm tannins and acids providing structure." 91
Wine Enthusiast - May, 2006

"Winemaker Enrique Tirado has been studying the Don Melchor vineyard in the Alto Maipo since 1997, dividing its 281 acres into plots according to fertility. He started with four; now there are more than a hundred, from which he blended this sophisticated and luscious red. When first poured, it's fresh and full of blackberry and raspberry aromas, then the spice and mineral tones get deeper as the wine gains texture and brightness. Sweet and juicy with crisp acidity, this is a brilliant Don Melchor, and one of the best Chilean wines from 2002." 93
Wine & Spirits - February, 2006

"Ripe and focused, with a pure beam of blackcurrant and plum fruit, layered with cocoa, mineral, loam, tobacco and toast. Ripe, smoky finish, with impressive structure for the vintage. Drink now through 2010." 92
Wine Spectator - December, 2005

"From California this could be twice the price. It's a very complex wine showing dark fruits, chocolate, coffee on the nose and a truly harmonious mouthfeel. Well integrated tannins make for excellent structure and a long finish."
Bill Van Ollefen - Advocate - December, 2005

"Buy wine; take home; put in cellar or closet or wherever you keep wine you're not going to drink for a few years. Or if you're going to try this tonight, use two pitchers and pour it back and forth three or four times and then let it sit for a couple of hours before dinner. Concha y Toro's Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 is, in other words, big as a house and locked up as a safe. Sure, the evidence of black currant, plum and black cherry flavors permeated by cedar, tobacco and black olive is a good indication of the future, but until 2008 through 2012, this wine is about the structural intricacies of oak and tannin. I would be interested in tasting it in, say, four years to see how it's doing and if it merits an Excellent rating." Very Good +
Fredric Koeppel - Koeppel On Wine - November, 2005

"I feel very fortunate to have tasted this wine from every vintage that has ever been made, and this is one of the very best. That is saying something, as it may have a more distinguished track record than any other wine from South America. Always wonderfully soft, with tannins that are unbelievably fine in grain, this vintage shows especially ripe and penetrating fruit flavors. Subtle accents of cedar and wood smoke lend additional interest, and though this will develop for another decade, it is thoroughly enjoyable immediately." 94
Michael Franz - Wine Review Online - October, 2005

DON MELCHOR

CONCHA Y TORO
Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Don Melchor 2005

Still very tight, but the tannins that lead the way now are sleek and refined, and should easily meld into the huge core of roasted chestnut, black currant paste, warm fig and tar. Has a long, coffee- and loam-tinged finish. Best from 2009 through 2019. 18,000 cases made. –JM

Score: 96
Release Price: $69
Country: Chile
Region: Maipo
Issue: Jun 15, 2008
Top 100: 2008, Rank: 12
Designation: Highly Recommended

www.winespectator.com

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CONCHA Y TORO
Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Don Melchor 2006

A dark, muscular style, with black currant, braised fig, maduro tobacco, bittersweet cocoa and loam notes that all roll together through the dense but polished finish. There's impressive power for the vintage, along with precision and balance. Drink now through 2018. 20,000 cases made. –JM

Score: 94
Release Price: $80
Country: Chile
Region: Maipo
Issue: Mar 31, 2009

www.winespectator.com

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