The stunning nose of red fruit and violets with a glaze of fine vanilla oak and great finesse pulls you into this concentrated Bordeaux blend with very fine tannins on the medium- to full-bodied palate. But as wonderful as the interplay of fruit and tannin is on the front palate, this opens up like a peacock’s tail at the extremely long and brilliant finish. Each time you go back the delicate spice becomes more apparent. A cuvee of 63% cabernet sauvignon, 22% malbec, 8% carmenere and 7% petit verdot. Sustainable. So delicious already! Drink or hold.

Stuart Pigott, James Suckling (February 2024)

Not quite up to the standards of the 100-point Viñedo Chadwick bottling in 2021 perhaps, but Don Max certainly over-delivers in terms of value for money. Combining Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec, 8% Carmenère and 7% Petit Verdot, it’s a floral, elegant, stylishly delineated Bordeaux style blend with bramble, cassis and red berry flavours, fine-grained tannins and the understated concentration to age further in bottle. 2025-35.

Tim Atkin (May 2024)

Opening on a shy, delicate note, the 2021 Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve slowly unfurls a black-fruited, chocolate-tinged bouquet with herbal, leathery accents and well-integrated toasted oak aromas. The palate echoes this slow-moving build with a svelte, saturated texture that gradually divulges more depth and concentration with aeration. It concludes with a balanced, swelling finish streaked with minerals and ultra-refined tannins, lingering with a lovely herbal perfume. I found this more understated and coiled than the 2022 vintage tasted alongside it. The blend here is 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec, 8% Carménère and 7% Petit Verdot that matured for 22 months in 70% new French oak.

Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate (May 2025)