Viña Concha y Toro’s icon wine, Don Melchor, has secured the top spot on Wine Spectator’s prestigious Top 100 Wines of 2024 list.
Santiago, Chile, November 20, 2024 – The Chilean wine industry has achieved a significant milestone with Don Melchor 2021 being named #1 in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2024 ranking. This iconic Cabernet Sauvignon is produced by one of Viña Cocha y Toro’s subsidiaries, Viña Don Melchor.
Wine Spectator, the world’s leading wine authority, evaluated nearly 10,500 wines from across the globe this year, with its editorial team selecting the most exciting wines for their annual Top 100 list. Top 100 wines are chosen on the basis of quality, value, availability and “X-factor,” meaning the story behind the wine.
In its official release announcing its Top 10 Wines of 2024, Wine Spectator states that Don Melchor has positioned itself as a benchmark of excellence, both in Chile and the global wine industry. Its 2021 vintage, which received 96 points, was celebrated:
“Chilean wine has been setting new standards in recent years. Don Melchor’s meticulous approach across three-plus decades has cemented its legacy as a benchmark for the country and made Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Vineyard one of Chile’s most sought-after Cabs. It now is honored as Wine Spectator´s 2024 Wine of the Year.”
Don Melchor 2021 marks the 35th vintage of the Don Melchor portfolio. Throughout its successful trajectory, Don Melchor has been characterized by its extraordinary quality and consistency, obtaining the highest recognitions granted by specialized media to a Chilean wine, positioning itself as an icon and true benchmark in the global wine industry. At the same time, with this notable distinction, its Puente Alto vineyard is crowned as one of the world’s great terroirs for the production of wines of global stature.
“It is a source of pride and gratitude that Don Melchor 2021 has been chosen number 1 by the prestigious Wine Spectator magazine. For me, this is undoubtedly the highest distinction received by Don Melchor in its remarkable trajectory. This, on the one hand, is a consequence of having the Puente Alto terroir, one of the best origins in the world for the production of the Cabernet Sauvignon variety, as well as the undisputed consistency that this wine has demonstrated over the years, this being the fourth time that our icon Cabernet Sauvignon has been ranked among the top ten wines in this publication”, says Eduardo Guilisasti, CEO of Viña Concha y Toro.
“It is a great honor to receive this recognition. I personally believe that, in order to produce a great wine, it is necessary to have a clear vision of where we want to go, staying true to the essence of the terroir, because it is the terroir that truly guides us. We are aware of this, and that is why in each of its vintages we seek to express the beauty of the perfect balance of the Puente Alto terroir. Don Melchor is born from the stony soil of this origin, the cold wind coming down from the Andes Mountains, its old vines and the careful work of man in the vineyard, making it a unique place in the world to produce a great Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon of Andean character. This important recognition, therefore, not only crowns this exceptional terroir, but also the dedicated, meticulous and committed work of so many people who have sought the excellence of Don Melchor year after year”, explains Enrique Tirado, General Manager and Technical Director of Viña Don Melchor since 1997.
“On its shoulders, Don Melchor has been able to carry with pride, excellence and elegance a great Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, whose origin and legacy dates back more than 150 years of history, and whose vines were brought from Bordeaux, France. Its genetic material has been guarded for generations, representing a unique value within the global wine industry,” explains Isabel Guilisasti, Vice President of Fine Wines at Viña Concha y Toro.
She adds: “We receive this prestigious recognition with the responsibility to continue delivering with each new vintage of Don Melchor, our deep and historic vocation for excellence, and the strong commitment to preserve, through diverse agroecological practices and innovations, this precious place for future generations. We would like to thank all our customers and distributors for their great commitment in bringing Don Melchor to our consumers around the world”.
The complete list of Wine Spectator’s 100 Best Wines of the Year 2024 is posted at www.winespectator.com , and will also appear in the December 31, 2024 print edition.
Don Melchor 2021
“The 2021 vintage provided us with very expressive wines, brimming with concentration, dense and long, that cast a spotlight on the fruit and textural quality of every variety grown in the Don Melchor Vineyard, displaying a fine balance between finesse and energy, with extremely expressive flavors and aromas,” describes Enrique Tirado of the 2021 vintage of Don Melchor.
The final blend of Wine Spectator’s first-place winning wine among the best wines of 2024, includes 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Merlot. It was aged for 15 months in French oak barrels, where 68% were new barrels and 32% second use barrels. It is then aged for another year, developing the complexity and elegance of Don Melchor.
Every year in the village of Lamarque, Bordeaux, France, Enrique Tirado meets with Eric Boissenot, son of the renowned Bordeaux consultant Jacques Boissenot, who advises hundreds of wineries, including Château Mouton-Rothschild, Château Latour and Château Léoville Las Cases de Bordeaux. Together with him, the winemaker tastes between 150 and 200 lots of wines from the Don Melchor vineyard, selecting only those that, in exact proportion, will determine a new vintage of the icon Cabernet Sauvignon, Don Melchor.
More information at www.donmelchor.com
