2020 Concha Y Toro Don Melchor 'Puente Alto' Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo Valley

Winemaker Notes: Don Melchor winemaker and technical director Enrique Tirado made this vintage with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Puente Alto terroir in the Alto Maipo Valley, which is an intense cherry red color with tremendous aromatic complexity and a great expression of fruit. It is highly concentrated and persistent on the palate and fresh, with soft, fine, delicate tannins and an excellent balance.

Don Melchor, Chile’s first icon wine, has consistently received the highest praise and recognition throughout its entire history since the beginning. This confirms it as one of the maximum representatives of Cabernet Sauvignon and the Puente Alto terroir as Chile’s finest origin for producing this variety.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


James Suckling - "Deep and serious with black olives, blackberries, blueberries, tobacco leaf, sweet red capsicum, ash, dried meat and a hint of black chocolate. This is a more direct, full-bodied Don Melchor, filled with solid blackberries and wrapped by tight, fine-grained tannins. Long and deep. 92% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cabernet franc, 1% merlot and 1% petit verdot. Better after 2024."


Vinous - "The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor has a 6% dash of Cabernet Franc along with 1% splashes of Merlot and Petit Verdot from Puente Alto, Maipo, and was aged for 15 months in 71% new French barrels. Vivid garnet red in the glass. The aromatic profile features red fruit such as cherry and black currant along with hints of mint, spice and pepper over secondary aromas from the aging process, including a gentle whiff of cedar. Intense in the mouth, with juicy freshness and young tannins that will integrate better in time. The fruit was especially vivid this year, adding greatly to the nuance and subtle details. This will growth deeper in the bottle."


Wine Spectator - "Inviting aromas of chocolate-covered cherry, dried rose petal and petrichor set the stage for this well-structured red, which balances concentrated berry and mission fig flavors against vibrant acidity, lending a lush, mouthwatering quality to a finish that swirls with cassis, spices and fine tannins. Drink now through 2038. 14,600 cases made, 3,500 cases imported."


Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "The 2020 Don Melchor is the iconic Cabernet from Maipo, from a warm and dry year. It contains 6% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot and fermented in stainless steel followed by malolactic in barrel and 15 months élevage in 71% new French barriques. It has 14.5% alcohol, going back to the classical parameters, with good ripeness and balance. This is very classical, produced mostly with ungrafted vines with a massal selection that deliver the purest expression of the grapes on the rocky Maipo soils in Puente Alto. It's polished and sleek, elegant, without any heat, balanced and with developed aromas, starting with tertiary notes of brick dust, cedar and tobacco. The tannins are very polished and elegant, with pungent, ripe flavors in the finish. It's approachable now, but it has a good track record for longevity. 175,200 bottles produced. It was bottled between December 2021 and January 2022."