Exploring Chilean wine must include Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon from the prestigious Concha y Toro Winery, which continues to elevate Chilean wines to a new level of quality. I have been fortunate to sample the following vintages of Don Melchor: 1989, 1993, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2015. Fast-forwarding, I recently tasted the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 vintages. I find these wines superb and reflective of the aspirations and goals of winemaker Enrique Tirado and Concha y Toro.
Table of Contents
From Bordeaux to Chile: The birth of a Chilean Wine Icon
Don Melchor de Santiago Concha y Toro established Concha y Toro Vineyard in 1883. He introduced grape varieties from France’s Bordeaux region to Chile. These included Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Merlot, and Carmenère.
In 1986, Eduardo Guilisasti Tagle, the reigning chairman of Concha y Toro, sent his son and the winery’s enologist to France to meet with Emile Peynaud, widely regarded as the father of modern winemaking in Bordeaux, to showcase the quality Cabernet Sauvignon from the Puente Alto Terroir in the Maipo Valley. The winery partnered with Jacques Boissenot to create the wines known as Don Melchor. The winery’s first vintage was in 1987.
The Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon captures the true essence of a specific terroir. Throughout the years, the Puente Alto vineyard has been divided into parcels to achieve what the winery considers the ideal balance of fruit that is rich in flavor, color, and aromas. This was quite apparent when tasting any vintage of the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Enrique Tirado: Shaping the Legacy of Don Melchor
Under the tutelage of soft-spoken winemaker Enrique Tirado, who has served as Don Melchor’s enologist since 1997, the wines have excelled in quality and earned numerous accolades and awards.
For Enrique Tirado, “Don Melchor’s style captures the complexity and finesse expressed through the perfect balance of the stony Puente Alto soil, the Andean breeze, the generous Maipo Valley climate.” Going back to the first vintage I sampled, for over thirty-seven years the vines continue to produce outstanding grapes.
Each time I have met with Enrique, I have seen his passion for his wines and his love for the region that produces these fabulous Cabernet Sauvignons. I can only imagine him strolling through the vineyards, taking pride as he oversees the vines, seeking the perfect grape clusters to ensure that the wines of Don Melchor are the very best.
One of Enrique’s greatest achievements in the vineyard was recognizing it not as a single entity but as a mosaic or puzzle of many distinct expressions and characteristics. That is why the vineyard is divided into seven parcels and further subdivided into 151 micro-parcels. Each micro-parcel, in turn, may contribute to the Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon.
Puente Alto Vineyard: Where Heritage Meets Terroir
The Puente Alto Vineyard, dating back to 1883, is located south of Santiago, at the foot of the Andes Mountains on the north bank of the Maipo River. It sits on one of the oldest alluvial plains. The area consists of three terraces. Today, the vineyard covers 125 acres. The acreage combines 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, divided into 7 parcels, with 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. The original vines came to Chile from Bordeaux pre-phylloxera; today, the vineyard preserves their heritage.
In 1968, Viña Concha y Toro acquired the El Tocornal vineyard, which is now known as the Don Melchor Vineyard. In 1979, they rejuvenated the vineyard through massal selection of pre-phylloxera Cabernet Sauvignon planted on its own roots. This process preserved those original vines.By 2004, they selected 3000 plants from Parcel 1, the oldest vineyard, to preserve Cabernet’s genetic identity. In 2013, Don Melchor used a distinctive massal selection, which now represents a small portion of the vineyard.
Although the area is known for its volcanic soils, the third terrace’s soil is more complex, giving the wine greater intensity and texture. The soil combines clay, sand, and limestone. Combined with the cool breezes that come down from the Andes, this soil composition creates the essence of all the Cabernet Sauvignons Enrique Tirado produces at Don Melchor.
Today, Viña Don Melchor incorporates biodiversity and sustainability in the vineyards. It starts with the soil and water to support a balanced ecosystem.
Crafting Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon
The various vintages are produced similarly. They hand-harvest the grapes at 24 to 25 Brix. The wine ages in 100% French oak, with two-thirds new oak and one-third previously used oak, for 14 to 15 months. After bottling, the wine holds for another year before release. Differences arise depending on whether the wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon or includes a small percentage of Cabernet Franc or Merlot, as well as on that year’s climatic conditions.
What impressed me about every Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon I sampled over the years was the consistency and the smooth balance the wines displayed, both individually and as a group. Even today, reviewing the five latest vintages, I see the evolution, the development, and its longevity. It shows how well a Don Melchor wine stands up over time.
The Future: Looking Ahead: Don Melchor’s Sundial Vineyard
In its pursuit of the highest-quality Cabernet Sauvignon and to preserve its legacy, Viña Don Melchor is experimenting with a new project called the “Sundial Vineyard.” The goal is to plant the vineyard to reflect its orientation. As its name suggests, they planted the vineyard with a massal selection of 900 plants on ungrafted roots in a radial pattern and trained vertically. Research from this planting could be vital to the future of winemaking, especially as we face climate change worldwide
Beyond Don Melchor: Exploring DM and Amelia
Don Melchor has a second label, DM. It is not yet sold in the United States. These are limited-edition wines known as “The Parcel Series.” The first 2025 release was DM/01 2022, representing parcel 1. In 2026, the second edition was unveiled: the 2023 vintage, DM/05, for parcel 5. I hope to compare the Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon with one of the DM series.
Following the success of Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon, Concha y Toro spun off Amelia, known as Viña Amelia. These wines focus on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the coastal Quebrada Seca vineyard in the Limarí Valley. Limestone soils and the Pacific Ocean shape this area.. Limestone soils and the Pacific Ocean shape this area. The goal is to showcase the exceptional terroir potential for white and cool-climate red wines. Marcelo Papa crafts the wines for the Amelia brand. Amelia is often called Don Melchor’s sister winery.
I was fortunate to taste the Amelia Chardonnay. It offered notes of apple and lemon with just the right amount of acidity. Being very particular about my Chardonnays, I was impressed by its quality..
A Legacy That Continues to Evolve
After tasting Don Melchor across decades of vintages, what continues to impress me is how the wine remains rooted in its Puente Alto heritage while evolving with each vintage and each new generation of vineyard research. It tells a story spanning its Bordeaux origins, historic vines, Enrique Tirado’s meticulous approach, and the innovative Sundial Vineyard. Don Melchor represents a fascinating balance of tradition and exploration.
My tastings of these vintages have shown me not only remarkable consistency and longevity but also the importance of terroir in defining its character. As Chilean wine continues to gain recognition worldwide, I look forward to following the next chapter of the Don Melchor story and tasting more of its wines along the way. Don Melchor’s story continues to be written.
Note: As is common in the wine industry, this writer received a hosted tasting to the Don Melchor wines. While it has not influenced this review, the writer believes in full disclosure.
Written Palette articles may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of those affiliate links, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.