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Don Melchor
Don Melchor, Chile’s first ultra-premium wine, is the only one with 23 vintages to its credit, all prize-winning and renowned by world critics. Don Melchor is the maximum exponent of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from Puente Alto, and places Chile as one of the world’s great producers of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Winemaker
Enrique Tirado
Enrique has had a illustrious career at Viña Concha y Toro. After joining the company in 1993 to lead its premium brands, in 1997 he was appointed head winemaker to assume responsibility for its super premium and ultra premium labels in addition to the company’s icon wine, Don Melchor.
His exacting, ongoing research into terroir management as well as his extraordinary sensitivity in winemaking allowed him to be designated as the exclusive winemaker of Don Melchor in 1999.
In 2010 Concha y Toro released its first icon Syrah, a project led by winemaker Enrique Tirado. The new Gravas del Maipo 2007 confirms Enrique’s absolute dedication for making wines from terroirs in the Maipo Basin at the foot of Andes Mountains.
Origin
Domain of Origin (D.O.): Puente Alto, Maipo Valley
Origin: Puente Alto vineyard, located at 650 meters above sea level in the Alto Maipo Valley. The over twenty-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon vines furnish fabulous fruit.
Soil: Stony soil of Puente Alto, that comprises material carried downstream from the Andes by the Maipo River. Nutrient poor and weakly absorbent soil curbs excessive vegetative growth and fruit production.
Climate: At Puente Alto, in summer, warm days give way to cold nights. Refreshing mountain air channeled down the Maipo canyon cools the vineyard more than elsewhere in the Maipo Valley. It is the sharp diurnal temperature differences that assist tannin ripening and the development of aromas as well as fixing exceptionally high quantities of polyphenol compounds in the grapes.
Related News
Awards
- Don Melchor 2009 | 94 pts. | Wine Spectator | March 2013
- Don Melchor 2008 | 94 pts. | Wine Spectator | October 2012
- Don Melchor 2007 | 94+ pts. | Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate | February 2012
- Don Melchor 2006 | 95 pts. | Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate | April 2009
Pairing
- Red meats, especially lamb and game in various dishes: roasted, stewed, with sauces made of red wine, mushrooms, rosemary or tomato.
- Various terrines and patés, especially truffle paté.
- Cow or sheep milk cheeses; dry and ripe cheeses or creamy cheeses.
