Don Melchor 2020

Don Melchor is Chile's original icon Cabernet, drawn every year from the single Puente Alto vineyard in the Alto Maipo, where Andean nights and gravelly soils lend the wine backbone and freshness. The 2020 is the more powerful sibling to the elegant 2021 — and that comes down to the season.

2020 was a warm, dry year in Maipo, running well above the historic average, and the wine reflects it: a deeper, more serious style. The blend is around 92% Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc and a little Merlot and Petit Verdot, aged some fifteen months in French oak. The nose leans savoury and brooding — black olive, blackberry and blueberry, tobacco leaf, a note of ash and dark chocolate. The palate is direct and full-bodied, framed by tight, fine-grained tannins that promise a long life. Where the 2021 charms, the 2020 commands.

Give it a decade if you can. Opened young, it needs a serious decant and a big plate of food.

How to Serve

Serve at 17–18°C in a large Bordeaux glass. Decant a young, structured vintage like this ninety minutes ahead to coax the tannins open.

Where to Drink It

Wiltons on Jermyn Street for a room built around wines like this. Or Hide on Piccadilly, whose cellar honours the New World greats.

Food Pairings

A rare côte de boeuf to share. Or slow-braised oxtail when the weather turns.