Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon is a glass-coating opaque purple with an alluring bouquet of toast, tobacco, cedar, leather, mocha, and blackcurrant. Sweet, voluptuous (but not in a fruit bomb kind of way), layered, and complex already, its superb balance will ensure at least a decade of evolution and it should drink well through 2036.
Don Melchor is the flagship wine of Concha y Toro, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon cuvee that was started in 1987, making it Chile’s senior icon. I feel confident about this because the winery kindly sent along a 1993 and a 1995 Don Melchor to provide context. The 1993 (94 points) reveals the nuance of a well-aged wine but with the balance to provide pleasure for another 10-15 years. The 1995 (95 points) is a bit rounder and more elegant, also with another 10-15 years of prime drinking ahead.
-
Wine Spectator
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.
-
Wine Enthusiast
The price for one of Chile's flagship wines keeps climbing, but fortunately so does the quality. Winemaker Enrique Tirado has crafted yet another pounding, saturated Cabernet. It’s wonderfully meshed yet potent and fierce. Boysenberry, cassis and kirsch flavors control the extracted palate, while the finish is warm, creamy and fun, sort of like a milkshake. At 14.5%, Melchor is at its max. Hold until 2010 and then drink through 2015.
Other Vintages
2020-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine - Vinous
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine - Decanter
-
Suckling
James -
Panel
Tasting -
Wong
Wilfred -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Panel
Tasting -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert
-
Wong
Wilfred
-
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Wong
Wilfred -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine
Don Melchor, named after Concha Y Toro’s founder, is among Chile’s most-acclaimed wines and a Cabernet that belongs in every conversation about world-class interpretations of this singular varietal. Winemaker Enrique Tirado says of his vision for the wine, “Don Melchor’s style, complexity, and elegance are the extension of the perfect balance between the rocky soils in Puente Alto, the cold winds that slide down from the Andes Mountains, the generous climate of the Maipo Valley, the number of years the vines have taken to yield their best grapes, and the meticulous and caring work of the human hand.”
The signature wine from the exquisitely tended Puente Alto vineyard, Don Melchor celebrates its 30th vintage with the 2016 release. Set at the foot of the Andes Mountains on the northern banks of the Maipo River in the Upper Maipo Valley, 650 meters above sea level, the vineyard dates back to the mid-19th century, when the first pre-phylloxera French varieties were brought to Chile. Today, the vineyard consists of 127 hectares, divided into seven parcels, 90% of which are Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.1% are Cabernet Franc, 1.9% are Merlot, and 1% are Petit Verdot. Each parcel has been subdivided in order for very specific, detailed work that responds to the particular needs of each plant, row by row, to achieve the perfect balance with the weather characteristics of each year. Average vine age is over 30 years.
Every year, Winemaker Enrique Tirado travels to the small town of Lamarque, Bordeaux, France, to meet with renowned Bordeaux consultant Eric Boissenot, to taste approximately 150 lots from the vineyard and determine which lots, and in which proportions, will go into the new vintage of Don Melchor. Once the final blend has been defined, the new vintage of Don Melchor is transferred to French oak barrels from the Allier, Tronçois, and Nevers forests. Nearly two-thirds of the barrels are new, and the remaining third have had one prior use. After 14–15 months, the wine is bottled and aged for another year to develop the complexity and elegance that Don Melchor is known for.