Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon, Puente Alto, Chile 2021

Wine Spectator has named the 2021 vintage of Chilean icon wine Don Melchor its Wine of the Year, placing it at #1 on their annual ranking of Top 100 Wines.

The Chilean wine industry’s first iconic wine and a true benchmark among the world’s fine wines, Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon is a vivid composition of its famed origins in the Puente Alto region. Steeped in the rich heritage of Don Melchor Concho y Toro, who planted the first Bordeaux grapes in Maipo Valley in 1883, this namesake wine has remained a standard-bearer of luxury winemaking for three decades, paying tribute to the terroir of Puente Alto and the extraordinary Don Melchor Vineyard.

This deep purple-coloured wine is aromatically very expressive, complex and intense with red fruit and berry aromas, and floral notes of violets. It fills the mouth, displaying depth throughout, with a smooth entry, great energy and breadth and a long, expressive finish. With its elegant mouthfeel, this wine showcases harmony, depth and elegance.

"Ashy graphite, cassis, iron, blackberries and a hint of cigar box and chocolate. Lots of violets, too. Rich and intense with a full-bodied palate. Showing density and very fine but structured tannins. Long and intense finish with lots of flavors. 93% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc and 3% Merlot. One of the best over the last few years. Drinkable now, but will fledge and hold very well in the next 20 years." James Suckling 99 Points