Viña Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Puente Alto Vineyard 2021

From its inaugural vintage in 1987, Viña Don Melchor aspired to demonstrate that Chilean terroir can produce world-class wines. Maintaining that credo, several years ago it became a stand-alone brand, separate from its parent company, Concha y Toro. The move signaled a shift to distinguish the flagship from Concha y Toro’s primarily large-volume and lower-priced labels. Now in its 35th vintage, the exemplary Viña Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Vineyard has undoubtedly succeeded in its endeavor as a reference for excellence, both in Chile and worldwide, and its 2021 version earns Wine Spectator’s 2024 Wine of the Year honors.

Viña Don Melchor is rooted in Chile’s most famous terroir—Puente Alto, a subdistrict of Maipo Valley just south of the Chilean capital of Santiago. Originally planted more than 100 years ago, the vineyard was revamped after Concha y Toro’s acquisition in 1968.

Today, the vineyard spans 314 acres—primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, with trace amounts of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot—and is divided into seven major parcels, which are further subdivided into 151 micro-parcels. The well-draining alluvial soil—which includes gravel, clay, sand and silt deposits—limits yields but concentrates flavors. The cool air that cascades down from the nearby Andes helps moderate temperatures and is one of the keys to the vineyard’s terroir stamp.

Other factors include own-rooted vines, which comprise 80 percent of the vineyard and have an average age of 35 years. Additionally, 100 percent of the vines are propagated through massale selection (using cuttings from the vineyard’s older and best vines, which originated in Bordeaux and were brought to Chile in the 1880s).

Technical director Enrique Tirado has overseen the winemaking since 1997 and intimately understands the nuances of each section of the vineyard. “I try to extract the uniqueness of each parcel. Through these different layers, you can see Don Melchor’s personality,” Tirado explained during a visit earlier this year.

The thumbprint of a typical Don Melchor wine is rich, earthy, minerally and well-defined. It offers a Bordeaux-like quality of finesse with purity of fruit and impeccable balance. These qualities were further accentuated by the outstanding 2021 growing season, which was mild, with lower-than-average summer temperatures and no significant heat waves.

An unexpected amount of rain fell in late January, but as Tirado explained in an interview for this year’s annual Chile tasting report, the rain came at the perfect time. “It rained just before veraison. In a normal year, we would have had to irrigate at this time. After that, it was by the book in terms of weather and maturity. The grapes showed great quality from the beginning, and you can see the full character in the wines. 2021 is one of the best in terms of quality.”

The final Cabernet Sauvignon–based blend includes 4 percent Cabernet Franc and 3 percent Merlot. It aged 15 months in French oak barrels, roughly two-thirds new. More than 200 lots are vinified annually, and each year brings a new permutation of those lots. “When you have a good harvest, the final blend is sometimes easy and sometimes not, because you have a lot of combinations to work with,” said Tirado.

To help with the process, Tirado enlists Bordelais consultant Eric Boissenot, son of the late Jacques Boissenot. Eric consults with hundreds of estates, including Bordeaux’s Château Mouton-Rothschild, Château Latour and Château Léoville Las Cases. “On the first day, we taste the parcels blind, looking only for quality,” Tirado explained.

Examining blind allows Tirado to respect each lot, looking for the right combination of concentration and tannin, with a singular focus on expressing the Don Melchor terroir. Perhaps most impressive is the scale at which this is accomplished. Classic wines are realized through consistency in style and quality, and maintaining those elements to the tune of more than 18,000 cases, as with the 2021 release, is a remarkable feat.

Chilean wine has been setting new standards in recent years; Don Melchor’s meticulous approach across three-plus decades has cemented its legacy as a benchmark for the country and made the Viña Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Vineyard one of Chile’s most sought-after Cabs. It now is honored as Wine Spectator’s 2024 Wine of the Year.

Tasting Note

A remarkable effort that channels the finesse of the vintage with rich, muscular edges, offering a base of graphite and cassis notes that gather around elegant layers of dried rosemary and white pepper. The richly textured core of raspberry and plum flavors show precision and just enough acidity to keep things sailing onto the finish around well-integrated tannins and touches of cocoa. Best from 2026 through 2040. 5,000 cases imported.—Aaron Romano