Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto 2019 750 ML

Critical Acclaim

JS98 – James Suckling
Very perfumed and aromatic with blackcurrant, sweet-tobacco and Spanish-cedar character. Full-bodied with ultra fine tannins that build on the palate and take the fruit and other flavors to an endless finish. More refined than the perfect 2018 and almost as compelling. Drink in 2023 or after.

V96 – Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor is also 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot and spent 15 months in 75% new French barrels. Vivid garnet in color. The rich, complex nose presents notes of black currant, mint, and hints of balsam and ash over a bed of oak and a whiff of cedar. In the mouth, hefty volume, fine-grained tannins and a broad expression combine, supported by a structure that is rather delicate for a wine of this intensity. The long-lasting finish ends with an aftertaste of fruit and mint before the oak has the final say. This will grow in the bottle.

WS94 – Wine Spectator
A standout red, offering svelte entry but quickly accelerating to a rich and well-structured state, built around never wavering flavors of black cherry, plum and baking spice, which gain dimension from fresh mineral acidity and subtle loam and bay leaf nuances. Ends with rich, well-integrated and mouthcoating tannins as well as hints of cocoa. Drink now.

RP93 – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
There is a little more ripeness in the 2019 Don Melchor, which in warmer years shows notes of ripe plums and is subtly balsamic. The palate is round and powerful, with good balance and nice integration of the oak. As usual, there is a combination of elegance and power, with subtle mintiness and harmony. Producer Information
Don Melchor is a Chilean premium wine brand composed of the singular eponymous Cabernet Sauvignon. It is owned by Concha y Toro, one of the largest wine producers in South America. The Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced entirely from a 127 hectare (315 acre) vineyard in the Puente Alto DO. Located in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, here an altitude of 2100 feet (640 meters) above sea level creates ideal terroir for viticulture. The vineyard was first planted in 1890 with pre-phylloxera Bordeaux rootstock and all the vines growing today are massal selections of those original plants. The inaugural vintage was Don Melchor was in 1987 and has since become consistently critically lauded. The 1988 vintage was the first Chilean wine to be included on Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100 Wines list and has since appeared again every few vintages – including several times in the Top 10. Don Melchor is named after Melchor de Concha y Toro, a Chilean businessman who brought Bordeaux varieties to Chile and planted them in the Maipo river valley in the 1880s. He also founded the Concha y Toro winery.