Don Melchor vertical 1995-2004

My tasting group meets roughly once per month. This time, we decided to change the format so each member would organize a themed tasting that could be more educational than what we had been doing until now. I chose my last few bottles of several Don Melchor vintages in order to give my friends a glimpse on how these wines age. In my past experience the answer to this question was "very well".

We met at the best restaurant in Monterrey: Pangea, where cheff and group member Guillermo Gonzalez prepared a wonderful tasting menu. Wines were served in individual Riedel glassware that allowed us to compare and revist all wines.

We actually started with a Mexican white wine whose name and vintage I failed to write down. The first dish was very refreshing. Brick of watermelon core over a bed of fetta cheese, pistachios, real bacon bits and fried basil mixed with bee honey.

• 1995 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 92 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Dark ruby with bricking at the rim. This is a weird nose for a Don Melchor, and very different from any other Chilean Cab I have ever had. Packed with diversity, this nose seems a bit oxidized at first. It later gives way to minerality, caramel, bacon, spices and a salty note. Is this really Chilean? It smells like a ripe year Chateauneuf du Pape! Medium bodied, with a very complex finish of mushrooms in brine. This is drinking very well, time has served it well. I am completely surprised by this wine. Last time I had (about 3 years ago) it also showed minerality, but none of this provenzal smorgarsboard of charcuterie. This is the best among the 4 aged Don Melchors (1995-2000) we had tonight.

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• 1996 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 90 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Slightly darker ruby (vs. the 1995) with bricking in the rim. Also showing minerality and dark fruits in the nose, but lacking the unusual bacon and spiced meat shown by its younger sibling. Instead it shows a hint of funkiness with swirling. In the mouth, this is less intensely flavored vs, the 1997, medium bodied, with the highest acidity of all wines tasted tonight. Those with an Euro centric palate will like it.

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• 1997 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 87 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  This wine was a dissapointment given its very good track record in previous tastings. Medium to dark ruby with substantial bricking. Raw meat, minerals and subdued dark fruit jam. This is surprisingly light for this hot vintage. Lacking afruit in the mid palate and depth in the flavor profile. Bad bottle?

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Tower of broiled black cod over a slice of pan fried egg plant, sauteed potatoes and piquillo pepper over a mirror of white truffle sauce.

• 2000 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 91 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Dark ruby with a bit of bricking. This is the last of the aged lot, as it exhibits some secondary nuances that are absent in the 2001-2004. More fruit in the nose than 1995, 1996 & 1997, but also showing a subatntial melted butter aroma that, to my surprise, would be present in all subsequent wines. Full to medium bodied, showing low acidity and deep balck fruit profile. This is an excellent wine.

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• 2001 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 93 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Dark purple that hints to a change in winemaking. All wines from this on, would be dominated by purple color rathwr than the clasic ruby Don Melchor's earlier vintages had. In the nose this has melted butter, coffee and dark fruits. More modern and international than its older siblings, this is a full bodied cab with low acidity and great palate coverage. My WOTN, but this was a tough choice.

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• 2002 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 89 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Dark purple color. This was the shiest nose of the night, offering reticent subdued balck fruits, popcorn, and steel. Very full bodied and dense, but delivering a weird finish redolent of animal fat. With tiome it may become more expressive.

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Medium cooked pork loin medallions over a Tlacoyo (mexican corn pastry) filled with black beans and hoja santa which sat over a ragout of zucchini flower and portobello mushrooms which in turn, was centered on two concentric circles of: mole sauce spiced with cinammon and an outer ring of juicy pineapple compote. This was absolutely spectacular with a sorgasborg of flavors meshing togther and liveining the dish.

• 2003 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 91 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Darkest purple of all wines tasted tonight. This is the ripest of all Don Melchors tasted tonight and, as expected, exhibits riper aromas of caramel and melted butter, dark fruits and a creamy, lactic aroma. Full to medium bodied, tannic and offering a drier finish than others.

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• 2004 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor 92 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Very dark purple. Purest fruit of all wines tasted. Ripe, exotic and attractive minty nose. Full bodied, tannic and a bit disjointed, but hinting of a great future.

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• 2002 Viña Almaviva S.A. Almaviva 92 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto

  Oscar was generous enough to bring this wine so we could compare wines from the same vineyard but different wine making technique. It proved to be very educational, as the wines couldn't have been more different. Very dark purple. At first this wine showed austere and disjointed, prompting some to declare it inferior to the 2002 Don Melchor. Those of us that waited until the end would witness a great transformation. Modern, ripe, full of black fruits and new leather. The mouth, however, is what makes this wine great. Velvety, nicely textured and offering a very flavorful finish. An excellent wine.

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Lime trio dessert. This was also exquisite, but I should have brought a Loire or an Alsace SGN to go with it.

This was a very puzzling tasting. None of the wines showed the Chilean aromatic typicity of wet loam and eucalyptus. Instead, most of them smelled like ultra ripe Aussie cabs. Full of melted butter and lactic aromas. Furthermore, the 1995 had morphed into a Rhone look alike that I had never experienced. Finally, even when I have always loved Don Melchor, to me, there is no question Almaviva is a better wine in almost all vintages.