Concha y Toros Don Melchor Carbernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Vineyard, Maipo Chile

In 1987 Concha y Toro Winery in Chile took a bold step, they produced the first ultra premium wine in South America, Don Melchor. Since that initial vintage Don Melchor remains at the top of Chile’s wine game. Since its inception Don Melchor has won praise from consumers and critics alike. Don Melchor is meant to express the Puente Alto region where its grapes are grown. To insure the highest quality, it has its own winemaking team, vineyards and winery solely for the production for Don Melchor. In the best vintages only about 15,000 cases are produced.
At a recent tasting of the debut of the about to be releases 2009 vintage, winemaker Enrique Tirado brought along some older vintages to sample as well. Enrique has been with Concha y Toro since 1993 and head winemaker at Don Melchor since 1997. He takes a hand on approach to winemaking. He walks through the vineyards and blocks off plots according to what characteristics each block is responsible for. Some are for certain fruit characteristics others for tannin structure each block is vinified separately and then blended together for the final product. “For me, Don Melchor is an ongoing quest to get the truest possible expression from every plant in the vineyard to attain beauty in the equilibrium from each Puente Alto terroir harvest. It’s my true obsession,” states Tirado. “Though I use technology as a tool to improve my knowledge, perhaps more importantly it is by observing and sensing what is happening with each plant and every wine that gives me that perfect balance year after year.” Don Melchor’s vineyards are planted with 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot. All of the wines produced though are always over 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with the balance of the blend Cabernet Franc.
The Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Vineyard 1995 contains 3% Merlot. It is ruby colored with a brick red border, an indication of its age. It has earthy aromas and black fruit comes shining through. The palate is filled with ripe berries with some graphite and its tannins are smooth with a long finish. This wine should continue to age gracefully for the next 10 years.
Deep garnet red is the color of the 2001 Don Melchor, has 9% Cabernet Franc and spent 15 months in French oak, 70% new. Red and black fruits fill the nose and minerals from the rocky Puente Alta soil are also present. Ripe fruits are balanced with acidity and firm tannins a long finish.
2005 Don Melchor is dark red and contains 3% Cabernet Franc. The aroma has black fruit and earthiness combined with vanilla and baking spices picked up from 14 months of barrel aging. Big fruit explains this wine with allspice and vanilla braced by big firm tannins. This wine comes in strong at 14.5% alcohol that is masked by its graceful balance of fruit, acidity and tannins also characterized by a nice long finish.
The debut of the 2009 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon was a real blockbuster. This vintage contains 4% Cabernet Franc and spent 15 months in French oak, it also weighs in 14.7% alcohol. It pours dark red bordering on purple. Black berries and dark cacao dominate the nose and palate. It is well balanced with rich tannins and a long dry finish.
Enrique Tirado’s own words sum up Don Melchor the best, he says, “Don Melchor’s style captures the complexity and finesse expressed through the perfect balance of the stony Puente Alto soil, the Andean breeze, the generous Maipo Valley climate, and the twenty-five years the vines have taken to produce their best grapes.”