Wine tastings are great as they give wine lovers the ability to try a number of different wines at the same time. General tastings might have several wines from the same grape varietal – all Chardonnays , or a few wines from the same producers; for example we will conduct a tasting of all the wines from the producer Penfolds or Hardys from Australia. Horizontal and vertical wine tastings offer two interesting ways to compare and contrast wines and take the learning experience to a different level.

A horizontal tasting involves wines that all come from the same vintage. We choose a vintage and we might also choose some other limitations on the wines involved. We might decide to have only red wines, or wines from a single grape variety or just “Bordeaux First Growths”; but, the wines will all be from a single vintage.

A vertical tasting involves wines from the same winery but from different vintages. If the winery produces more than one type of wine, you would select a single wine from that winery and taste multiple vintages of that wine. On Friday we tasted Concha y Toro’s ultra premium wine: Don Melchor.

Fifteenth anniversary celebrations

Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ) as part of their 15th anniversary celebrations recently hosted a number of wine and food-related events across Jamaica. This weekend the final two events were held in Montego Bay, beginning on Friday with a private once-in-a-lifetime vertical tasting of one of Chile’s iconic wines, Don Melchor. Guests were given the opportunity to taste up to 20 years of Chile’s most awarded wine. The second event on Saturday was a Concha y Toro wine dinner held at the Half Moon’s Sugar Mill Restaurant which is celebrating its 40th Anniversary; more on this next week.

Chile’s first Ultra-Premium wine

Don Melchor was the first Ultra-Premium wine in the history of Chilean oenology, and is the only one with a track record of 19 vintages, all of them recipients of international awards and commending reviews. Don Melchor has made the Wine Spectator top 100 list four times now, listed at number four (4) in 2005 and in 2006. Don Melchor was hailed the best Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile by both the Wine Spectator and Robert Parker. Named after the founder of the winery, Don Melchor de Concha y Toro, the wine has become a symbol of the best the land and the winemaker’s hand can produce in Chile. Guests tasted the Don Melchor wines from the following vintages: 1989, 1991, 1996 and 2005.

Going into this tasting, I was a little concerned how a Chilean wine would hold up after 20 years. Storage is very important, so when I learned that the wines were being held at the winery where they were produced I relaxed. Karine Mollenhauer, On Trade Manager from Vina Concha y Toro, flew in from Santiago, Chile, to guide us through the tasting.

One school of thought says that you taste younger wines first, but others argue the opposite, as the thought is that older wines would suffer if tasted after the more fruity, fuller-bodied younger wines.

Don Melchor 1989

Twenty years in the bottle have softened the tannins nicely. This wine was not very highly rated on release, but Wine Spectator in 2001 gave it 86 points, describing it as a wine with a vibrant mint aroma that gives way to supple currant and tobacco flavours. Mature, with a slightly firm finish. While it was good, it was not the crowd favourite. I found it to be a mellow wine, whose maturity had definitely passed, but which would still be able to provide enjoyment and a subject for discussion for a Cabernet drinker.

Don Melchor 1991

A number of guests listed this as their favourite, but for me it did not have the structure and backbone of the other wines. Filled with berry fruit, and full-bodied on the palate, this was a great wine considering that it is 18 years old. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate suggested that this wine would show best between 2003 to 2012. “The medium to dark ruby-coloured 1991 Don Melchor has a mouth-watering nose of chocolate-covered cherries. This wine has outstanding depth of fruit, a medium body, and a satiny texture. It is quite youthful, revealing dense layers of blackberries, spices, cassis, cedar, and rosemary. While it is powerful and expressive, this is an elegant wine that has lovely structure.” – Pierre Rovani – The Wine Advocate, tasted in 2002.

Don Melchor 1996

My favourite of the lot, this wine was full-bodied and well-structured, with gobs of rich berry fruit nicely balanced with alcohol and tannins for a great sipping wine or with red meats. It was excellent with the tender, tasty rack of lamb prepared by Ciao Bello caterers. The winemaker said that this wine boasts a deep ruby red colour with a bouquet of mature plums, chocolate and tobacco accompanied by notes of menthol and vanilla. The taste is fine, elegant and full-bodied, with mature tannins that make the wine complete and pleasant.

Don Melchor 2005 – The baby

95 Points -The Wine News; 96 Points-The Wine Advocate ; 94 Points -Wine Spectator. James Molesworth from the Wine Spectator said it best: “Still very tight, but the tannins that lead the way now are sleek and refined, and should easily meld into the huge core of roasted chestnut, black currant paste, warm fig and tar. Has a long, coffee- and loam-tinged finish. Best from 2009 through 2019”. Wine lovers in Jamaica should try to collect this wine if possible. It is very highly allocated worldwide, and considering it is the most highly rated Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, it’s really great that we can still get it here.

Cheers! Now go forth and try some Don Melchor today.

Chris Reckord is an independent wine consultant who operates DeVine Wine Services with his wife Kerri-Anne. Chris & Kerri are also part owners of Jamaica’s first and only wine-only bar -Bin 26 Wine Bar. Please send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com . Follow us on twitter.com/DeVineWines