The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor has a 6% dash of Cabernet Franc along with 1% splashes of Merlot and Petit Verdot from Puente Alto, Maipo, and was aged for 15 months in 71% new French barrels. Vivid garnet red in the glass. The aromatic profile features red fruit such as cherry and black currant along with hints of mint, spice and pepper over secondary aromas from the aging process, including a gentle whiff of cedar. Intense in the mouth, with juicy freshness and young tannins that will integrate better in time. The fruit was especially vivid this year, adding greatly to the nuance and subtle details. This will growth deeper in the bottle.

Full bottle 1,442 g. From Sam Cole-Johnson's tasting note: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, hand-harvested between 9 March and 6 April. Each block vinified separately in stainless steel. Nine-day fermentations at 25–26 °C (77–79 °F) with three pumpovers per day. Extended maceration for seven days at 23–25 °C (73–77 °F). 15 months in 71% new, 29% second-use French oak. pH 3.61. Shaded garnet colour. Very subtle, very mineral nose with ripe fruit and tamarind notes. Excellent combo of ripeness and acidity with real restraint and a strong mineral element on the finish. You can almost sense Enrique Tirado hovering over the barrels to ensure that the balance of ripe tannins with flavours, acid and alcohol is just comme il faut. (He trained in Bordeaux.) This is surely restrained Chilean red at its best. So appetising! When Sam tasted it in April she thought one should probably wait until 2026 before touching it but I have to say it's looking pretty gorgeous now, after another five months in bottle. (JR)