Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

  • 95 James
    Suckling
  • 95 Decanter
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 94 Wilfred
    Wong
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
  • 93 Wine
    Enthusiast
4.6 Fantastic (20)
2020 Vintage In Stock
150
139 99
OFFER 10% off your order of $99+
Ships Thu, Mar 21
You purchased this 2/3/24
1
Limit Reached
You purchased this 2/3/24
Alert me about new vintages and availability
Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Front Bottle Shot
Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Front Bottle Shot Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Front Label Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Back Bottle Shot

Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
2011

Size
750ML

Your Rating

0.0 Not For Me NaN/NaN/N

Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

Deep cherry red in the glass. The aroma of this wine is elegant and complex, brimming with notes of black currants and spice complemented by chocolate and tobacco. Soft tannins give way to evolving freshness with an elegant, persistent finish.

Professional Ratings

  • 95
    Gorgeous aromas of eucalyptus, black currants, berries and stones. Medium to full body, fine tannins and tension. Firm, caressing texture. This remains one of the top cabs of Chile as always. Better in 2017.
  • 95
    With 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and some drops of Cabernet Franc, this comes form the tradtional Tocornal Vineyard, planted in the mid-1970s. A cold vintage reveals its herbal, spicy, flavors, but above all a crunchy, vivacious acidity and pungent tannins that need time in a bottle. A brilliant version of a classic.
  • 94
    Rich and powerful, with balanced and elegant flavors of dried raspberry, mocha, mineral and dark chocolate. Creamy midpalate, presenting a broad and lush finish, revealing slate and white pepper notes. Drink now through 2022.
  • 94
    One of top wines of the year, the 2011 Concha y Toro Don Melchor is a super, world-class wine that exceeds many of the best from around the globe. Medium to deep ruby color; dense and under-the-radar aromas of red and black currants, super young now and just a bit unsettled, strong suggestion of greatness to come; medium bodied, refined on the palate, sweet tannins give the wine form; dry, medium acidity, well balanced; bright red fruit flavors, with a hint of mineral and dried earth; medium finish, lively long red fruit; bright; black currants in the aftertaste. (Tasted: June 1, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
  • 94
    I tasted three bottled vintages of the iconic Cabernet Sauvignon from the Puente Alto appellation in the Maipo Valley, the classical zone for the Bordeaux grape in Chile, starting with the 2011 Don Melchor; this wine had plenty of aromas of graphite, iron, cold ashes, blood and fresh meat -- denoting freshness and seriousness. This year only has 1% Cabernet Franc blended in -- one of the lower, if not the lowest years ever. With time, the more balsamic aromas emerge, which also gives some brightness and light to the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with some sweet fruit and the core of fine-grained, classical Cabernet tannins. This is a fresh, elegant vintage of Don Melchor, a prototype Cabernet from Alto Maipo.
  • 93
    As per usual, Don Melchor is singing a pretty tune. Deep, dense aromas of floral berry fruits and tarry darkness are solid and complete. Pure, elegant and confident across the palate, this delivers firm cassis, plum and cherry flavors backed by a toasty finish accented by licorice. This is rich and brawny but not heavy; drink through 2023.

Other Vintages

2020
  • 97 James
    Suckling
  • 95 Wine
    Spectator
  • 95 Vinous
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
  • 93 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 92 Decanter
2019
  • 98 James
    Suckling
  • 98 Tasting
    Panel
  • 95 Wilfred
    Wong
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
2018
  • 100 James
    Suckling
  • 96 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 95 Wine
    Spectator
  • 95 Robert
    Parker
2017
  • 99 James
    Suckling
  • 97 Tasting
    Panel
  • 95 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 95 Wine
    Spectator
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
  • 94 Wine &
    Spirits
2016
  • 94 Wilfred
    Wong
2015
  • 98 James
    Suckling
  • 96 Decanter
  • 96 Wine
    Spectator
  • 94 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
2014
  • 98 James
    Suckling
  • 96 Wine
    Spectator
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
2013
  • 97 James
    Suckling
  • 93 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
  • 93 Wine
    Spectator
  • 92 Wine
    Enthusiast
2012
  • 98 James
    Suckling
  • 95 Wine
    Spectator
  • 92 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 92 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 91 Robert
    Parker
2010
  • 96 James
    Suckling
  • 95 Wine
    Spectator
  • 94 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
2009
  • 94 James
    Suckling
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 93 Wilfred
    Wong
  • 92 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 92 Wine &
    Spirits
2008
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 93 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 93 Wine &
    Spirits
2007
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
  • 93 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 93 Wine
    Spectator
  • 92 Wine &
    Spirits
2006
  • 95 Robert
    Parker
  • 94 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
2005
  • 96 Wine
    Spectator
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
  • 93 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 91 Wine &
    Spirits
2004
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
  • 93 Wine
    Spectator
  • 92 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 92 Wine
    Enthusiast
2003
  • 96 Wine
    Spectator
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
  • 91 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 90 Wine
    Enthusiast
2002
  • 93 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 92 Wine
    Spectator
  • 91 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 90 Robert
    Parker
2001
  • 95 Wine
    Spectator
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
2000
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 91 Robert
    Parker
1999
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
  • 92 Wine
    Spectator
  • 91 Wine
    Enthusiast
1997
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
  • 92 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 90 Wine
    Spectator
1996
  • 95 Robert
    Parker
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 94 Wine
    Enthusiast
1995
  • 92 Robert
    Parker
1994
  • 90 Wine
    Spectator
Don Melchor

Don Melchor

View all products
Don Melchor, South America
Don Melchor Winery Video

Don Melchor, named after Concha Y Toro’s founder, is among Chile’s most-acclaimed wines and a Cabernet that belongs in every conversation about world-class interpretations of this singular varietal. Winemaker Enrique Tirado says of his vision for the wine, “Don Melchor’s style, complexity, and elegance are the extension of the perfect balance between the rocky soils in Puente Alto, the cold winds that slide down from the Andes Mountains, the generous climate of the Maipo Valley, the number of years the vines have taken to yield their best grapes, and the meticulous and caring work of the human hand.”

The signature wine from the exquisitely tended Puente Alto vineyard, Don Melchor celebrates its 30th vintage with the 2016 release. Set at the foot of the Andes Mountains on the northern banks of the Maipo River in the Upper Maipo Valley, 650 meters above sea level, the vineyard dates back to the mid-19th century, when the first pre-phylloxera French varieties were brought to Chile. Today, the vineyard consists of 127 hectares, divided into seven parcels, 90% of which are Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.1% are Cabernet Franc, 1.9% are Merlot, and 1% are Petit Verdot. Each parcel has been subdivided in order for very specific, detailed work that responds to the particular needs of each plant, row by row, to achieve the perfect balance with the weather characteristics of each year. Average vine age is over 30 years.

Every year, Winemaker Enrique Tirado travels to the small town of Lamarque, Bordeaux, France, to meet with renowned Bordeaux consultant Eric Boissenot, to taste approximately 150 lots from the vineyard and determine which lots, and in which proportions, will go into the new vintage of Don Melchor. Once the final blend has been defined, the new vintage of Don Melchor is transferred to French oak barrels from the Allier, Tronçois, and Nevers forests. Nearly two-thirds of the barrels are new, and the remaining third have had one prior use. After 14–15 months, the wine is bottled and aged for another year to develop the complexity and elegance that Don Melchor is known for.

Image for Cabernet Sauvignon content section
View all products

A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.

Image for Maipo Valley Wine Chile content section
View all products

The Maipo Valley is Chile’s most famous wine region. Set in the country’s Central Valley, it is warm and quite dry, often necessitating the use of irrigation. Alluvial soils predominate but are supplemented with loam and clay.

The climate in Maipo is best-suited for ripe, full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (the region’s most widely planted grape), Merlot, Syrah and Carmenère, a Bordeaux variety that has found a successful home in Chile.

White wines are also produced with great prosperity, especially near the cooler coast, include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

CGL145677_2011 Item# 145677

Internet Explorer is no longer supported.
Please use a different browser like Edge, Chrome or Firefox to enjoy all that Wine.com has to offer.

It's easy to make the switch.
Enjoy better browsing and increased security.

Yes, Update Now

Search for ""