Regular Price $175.00, Insiders Only Special $139.99 with shipping included on 3 bottles

18 bottles available

The annals of wine geekdom are filled with tales of how Concha y Toro’s Don Melchor has shocked sommeliers and Cabernet Sauvignon lovers over the years in blind tastings by, almost routinely, besting the world’s biggest benchmarks from Bordeaux, California and Washington. I know! I’ve seen it happen more than once myself. In fact, Chile’s claim for being able to produce wines that can drink with world’s best largely ride on the shoulders of old Don Melchor! Ancient vines (Don Melchor Concha y Toro planted them in stony, inhospitable soils at the foot of the Andes in 1883) and superb, meticulous, spare-no-expense and cut-no-corner winemaking provide the world with a wine of impeccable breeding, balance and polish. The 2021 Don lives in infamy as the Wine Spectator magazine anointed it its #1 Wine of the Year in 2024 without the vintage actually being available in the United States. The firestorm of resulting demand was met with only blank stares from the likes of us- those who wanted to sell you the wine but couldn’t! But, now that it is here, we can say it is, indeed, a remarkable wine. Impressive for its complex aromatics, giving up a burst of nicely concentrated dark, dusky, currant-y fruit followed by a kaleidoscope of piney, brambly, tobacco and graphite notes with some tantalizing lavender notes in there as well. Full bodied and incredibly silky, it’s both primary and complex at the same time and, ultimately, seamless and delicious! Tasted blind you might, in rapid succession, flip past Oakville or Rutherford in your mental rolodex before, perhaps, hitting on the Columbia Valley. But as it opens more in the glass you might start to consider Margaux or Graves. No matter. It’s simply gorgeous, and a large-bowled glass of this next to your steak – either now or in five, ten or twenty years- will be one of those ‘a-ha’ Cabernet experiences we all sometimes crave! We’re convinced that the only reason the Don Melchor doesn’t cost three or four times the price is because it comes from Chile. 

James Suckling: Ashy graphite, cassis, iron, blackberries and a hint of cigar box and chocolate. Lots of violets, too. Rich and intense with a full-bodied palate. Showing density and very fine but structured tannins. Long and intense finish with lots of flavors. 93% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc and 3% merlot. One of the best over the last few years. Drinkable now, but will fledge and hold very well in the next 20 years. 99 points

Vinous: The 2021 Don Melchor is dark garnet red in the glass. The restrained nose offers pure fruity notes such as blackcurrant with hints of leaves and black tea, refined woody aromas, and gentle touches of plum and red bell pepper. In the mouth, it’s intense with mild juiciness and rounded tannins. The taut palate gradually grows more profound as it develops cedar flavors at the back of the throat before the long, rewarding finish. A wine that is more suggestive than explicit as it slowly envelops you in its different layers. The added freshness brings out the clarity of the fruity flavors. 97 points

Wine Spectator: #1 WINE OF THE YEAR: A remarkable effort that channels the finesse of the vintage with rich, muscular edges, offering a base of graphite and cassis notes that gather around elegant layers of dried rosemary and white pepper. The richly textured core of raspberry and plum flavors show precision and just enough acidity to keep things sailing onto the finish around well-integrated tannins and touches of cocoa. Best from 2026 through 2040. 96 points