2019 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon

About the producer

After more than 30 years, Don Melchor has reached a solid position that enables it to face new challenges, highlighting its maturity and ability to express its own identity through Viña Don Melchor. This identity is built upon a base of three fundamental pillars—its impeccable heritage and history, the peerless conditions of its terroir, and the deep understanding and expertise in the making of the Don Melchor wine. Meticulous research, careful study and the painstaking dedication of winemakers have seen these 127 hectares divided into seven parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller parcels of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Each of these is then precisely subdivided into micro-parcels, so that every detail and characteristic can be managed, with winegrowers responding to the needs of each area, each row, each vine. When the factors that affect the vines, from soil composition and root growth to nutrients, water retention and temperature change, are perfectly managed they ultimately influence the unique expressions of each wine. Puente Alto is a privileged terroir, determined by the singular combination of soil, climate conditions, the vineyard, and a delicate human touch to craft vintages that are a faithful expression of this special place. Located at the foot of the Andes, 650 metres above sea level, the Don Melchor winery is set on the north bank of the Maipo River and has long been a keystone in the history of Chilean wine. Ever since French pre-phylloxera vines were imported in the mid-19th Century, this part of the Maipo Valley has been growing in prestige and quality, building on a past rich in tradition. The vineyard today consists of 127 hectares, carefully divided into seven parcels, of which roughly 90 per cent hold Cabernet Sauvignon vines, with 7.1 per cent Cabernet Franc, 1.9 per cent Merlot and the final one 1 per cent growing Petit Verdot grapes. The Cabernet Sauvignon vines average more than 30 years of age and correspond to a selection originally brought over from Bordeaux at the end of the 19th Century.