Name: Vina Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto 2022 750ml
Brand: Vina Don Melchor
SKU: 996846
Price: 128.13 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 96.4 (5 reviews)

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Winery

Vina Don Melchor

Shop all from Vina Don Melchor

Varietal

Cabernet Sauvignon

By far and away the most recognized and widely grown red wine grape varietal in the world is the Cabernet Sauvignon. First cultivated in the 18th century in France, this wonderful cross of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc grapes has long since been the most important varietal for red wines across the globe. Now grown everywhere from its native France to the furthest reaches of the New World, Cabernet Sauvignon is adored and prized by wineries for its hardiness and resistance to rot, as well as its large and sharp flavors and wonderful capability for fine aging Indeed, many of the finest wines of history and the modern age would be simply unimaginable without Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, with the famed wineries of Bordeaux and other important regions using it as the primary grape in their oak aged produce. High tannin levels, acidity and powerful flavors are the characteristics most commonly associated with this varietal, however, when blended and slowly aged, it is capable of a world of flavors and aromas unmatched by any other grape.

Country

Chile

Chile has a long and rich wine history which dates back to the Spanish conquistadors of the 16th century, who were the first to discover that the wonderful climate and fertile soils of this South American country were ideal for vine cultivation. It has only been in the past forty or fifty years, however, that Chile as a modern wine producing nation has really had an impact on the rest of the world. Generally relatively cheap in price,Whilst being widely regarded as definitively 'New World' as a wine producing country, Chile has actually been cultivating grapevines for wine production for over five hundred years. The Iberian conquistadors first introduced vines to Chile with which to make sacramental wines, and although these were considerably different in everything from flavor, aroma and character to the wines we associate with Chile today, the country has a long and interesting heritage when it comes to this drink. Chilean wine production as we know it first arose in the country in the mid to late 19th century, when wealthy landowners and industrialists first began planting vineyards as a way of adopting some European class and style. They quickly discovered that the hot climate, sloping mountainsides and oceanic winds provided a perfect terroir for quality wines, and many of these original estates remain today in all their grandeur and beauty, still producing the wines which made the country famous.

Region

Valle Central

Chile is a fascinating country when it comes to wines and viticulture, and by far the most internationally renowned wine region in the country is the Valle Central. This expansive valley is located close to the Chilean capital of Santiago, and stretches between the Maipo Valley and Maule Valley, a long, winding fault through the mountainous regions of the country which is now almost completely covered by vineyards producing wines of exquisite character. The region itself may well be associated with the 'New World' of wines, but in actual fact, vineyards have been cultivated around the Maipo valley since the 16th century, when settlers from Europe brought vines across the ocean with which to make sacramental wines. A wide range of grape varietals thrive in the hot climate of Valle Central, from the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines the country is most famous for, to Syrah, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Carmenere.

Appellation

Maipo

JS 99pts

James Suckling

#53 in Top 100 World, 2024. Blackcurrants, cassis and graphite on the nose. Pure and fragrant. Full-bodied with superb density and tannins that are so polished. The texture is like touching a silk ball. Its finish is very long and compact with slightly chewy tannins, but it will come together beautifully with time in the bottle. Try after 2028.

VM 97pts

Vinous Media

#55 of Top 100, 2024. The 2022 Don Melchor originates from a vineyard planted in the heart of the Puente Alto region in 1979. This is renowned Cabernet Sauvignon terroir, characterized by the perfect balance of temperatures and poor gravel soils. The 2022 was aged in French oak barrels, with 78% of them being new. Garnet-hued with a purplish sheen, it offers complex aromas of currant, blackberry, ash, mint and a subtle floral tone that can be attributed to the cold vintage. Dry, rich and moderately juicy, the precisely calibrated tannins of Maipo Valley and the clear fruit impart the palate with intensity and agility. This is a more nuanced and energetic edition of Don Melchor, closing with a fairly compact finish.

JD 97pts

Jeb Dunnuck

Richly textured and layered in tangy red fruit, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is from a cooler year than the 2023, made in a similar way, blending from some 151 parcels planted at different densities and in different time periods, from 1979 through 2022. The 95% Cabernet Sauvignon is joined by 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% each of Merlot and Petit Verdot, aged 15 months in French oak barrels, 72% new. Ripening was even and relatively slow, allowing the flavors, aromas, and acidity to meld seamlessly across a full-bodied palate of lovely red and black fruit and floral tones. The tannins are melded within the breadth of the wine, textured to a delicate degree, well-balanced throughout. This is simply a gorgeous wine. Hold and drink 2032-2045.

WS 95pts

Wine Spectator

Elegant, nuanced and concentrated, with a loamy-clay cast to the fresh thyme and subtle tuberose aromas, which give way to a rich yet balanced core of blackberry and cassis notes lifted by saline-edged acidity. Wonderfully fresh while moving toward the finish, where the flavors come together and linger harmoniously around well-formed tannins. Drink now through 2040.

WA 94pts

Wine Advocate

The 2022 Don Melchor spent 15 months in 72% new oak barrels and lands somewhere between the open-knit ease of 2021 and the tense introversion of 2020. A coiled, dark-fruited nose of tobacco leaves, dried herbs, graphite and dark chocolate transitions to a slow-moving, velvety palate. It concludes with a taut, inward finish of gently chewy tannins that regenerates the graphite-laden intensity found on the nose. With time in the glass, its structural burliness softened and melded with additional layers of chocolate-driven richness. This could possibly merit a higher score with additional time in bottle to slightly congeal the finish. It's a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot.

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Vina Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto 2022 750ml

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