1996 Don Melchor
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Tasting notes
While a bit past its optimal drinking window, the 1996 Don Melchor is holding up relatively well and offers an educational look into the house style over the last three decades. The product of a harvest marked by rain and cool temperatures, it opens with a red-fruited, woody, tobacco-driven bouquet that continuously came in and out of expressiveness during the hour or so I spent with it. The palate is soft and elegant, with a slightly truncated finish that is beginning to show oxidative notes. This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that aged 12 months in 69% new barrels.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 12 months in French oak barrels (69% new, 31% second-use). Polished crimson. Hint of putty and gaminess. Big and sweet. Still quite youthful. Lots of fresh acidity and vibrant fruit. Lively, racy. (JR)
Blackcurrant and menthol on the nose. Milk chocolate, smooth tannic feel, long spicy finish. Lovely quality of fruit here – ripe but not cooked, and with a good savoury snap on the finish. (RH)
Saturated ruby-red. Pungently herbal yet compelling aromas of basil and rosemary, along with a resiny nuance and a floral note of rose petal. Supple and fairly intensely flavored, though not particularly fleshy; flavors of cassis, cranberry and pomegranate complicated by eucalyptus and mint. The strong bitter red berry quality carries through to the firmly tannic finish. A still-young wine that's long on personality.