2010 Don Melchor
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc. Hand-harvested between 22 April and 27 May. Each block vinified separately in stainless steel. Fermentations lasting 8–10 days at 25–28 °C with 4–6 pumpovers per day. Extended maceration. 15 months in 76% new, 24% second-use French oak. pH 3.6. Just gorgeous on the nose with a light tobacco pyrazine character and rich cocoa powder. Glossy black fruit on the palate, rich black cherry and blackberry and a bit of tertiary wet leaf, iodine and black potting soil. Fresh medium-plus acid and crushed-velvet tannin. New-oak spice is in perfect balance. This is in a sweet spot but I can see the edge… the finish is just starting to lose a bit of freshness. All aromas and structure very well intact. (SCJ)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc. Aged for 15 months in French oak barrels (76% new, 24% second-use). Dark blackish crimson. Moderate fruit without excessive alcohol. But still quite young and tannins tight and tight-lipped! (JR)
I had the chance to revisit some older vintages of the top Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine from Puente Alto, including the 2010 Don Melchor from a cooler and drier than average year that resulted in a later harvest. It contains 3% Cabernet Franc and aged in 76% new French barriques for 15 months. 110,000 bottles were produced in 2010. This has to be one of the finest vintages of Don Melchor. It has absorbed the light lactic touch from its youth and is developing at what seems to be the pace of this bottling, extremely slowly. There is great balance and a combination of power and elegance that is unusual. This has to be one of the best zones in Chile for Cabernet Sauvignon, and this is a great example of it. It was bottled in November 2011.
3% Cabernet Franc and rather cool but dry. Very dark indeed – black glossy ruby almost right out to the rim. More savoury and interesting than older vintages. Juicy and hugely flattering texture. Comes back with a little bit of fermented blackcurrant pastilles on the finish. Already quite approachable even though only five years old. (JR)