Winemaker Notes
#1 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2024

This deep purple-coloured wine is aromatically very expressive, complex and intense with red fruit and berry aromas and floral notes of violets. It fills the mouth, displaying depth throughout, with a smooth entry, great energy and breadth and a long, expressive finish. With its elegant mouthfeel, this wine showcases harmony, depth and elegance.

Blend: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot

Critical Acclaim

James Suckling - 99pts
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.

Jeb Dunnuck - 97pts
The cooler-than-normal year yielded elegant results in the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, from the famous estate vineyard subdivided into 151 small parcels from which winemaker Enrique Tirado is able to blend. This vintage, the 93% Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Merlot. As always, aging was over 15 months in French oak barrels, 68% new, a slightly lower percentage than subsequent vintages. The older section of the vineyard is nearly 35 years old, though vines have been planted throughout its history. Weather conditions allowed for good balance and plenty of fresh acidity to buoy and complement the full-bodied core of berry fruit and elegant tannins.

Vinous - 97pts
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.

Wine Spectator - 96pts
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.