"The winemaker and general manager of Viña Don Melchor, Enrique Tirado, spoke with Money Talks about the strategy that allowed the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon to top the Wine Spectator magazine rankings. Tirado has been associated with Don Melchor for 30 years, a wine priced at US$175 per bottle, producing 18,000 cases annually and selling 6% of its production in Chile. 'Once you're in the group of those who've been number 1, you remain there forever,' he says about the award."

Source: Money Talks

In November 2024, the Chilean wine Don Melchor 2021 vintage, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Viña Don Melchor, owned by Concha y Toro, was named the best wine in the world by Wine Spectator, one of the most prestigious wine magazines. This is undoubtedly the greatest distinction ever achieved by a Chilean wine: the only other Chilean wine to receive this recognition was Clos Apalta from Viña Lapostolle in 2008. The publication notes that “Don Melchor, thanks to its meticulous approach over three decades, has ensured its legacy as a global reference,” and adds that the award reaffirms a trend where Chilean wines are setting new standards in recent years.

Don Melchor, which also celebrated its 35th vintage in 2021 and is priced at US$175 per bottle according to Wine Spectator, has been one of the first Chilean wines to position itself among the world’s high-end wines. There are two key factors in this achievement. The first is winemaker Enrique Tirado, now the general manager of the winery. The second is the Puente Alto terroir, the location where the wine is produced, considered one of the most prestigious origin appellations in the world for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Enrique Tirado plays the dual role of being the “father” of Don Melchor—having worked on the brand for 30 years—and is also recognized as the guardian of the Puente Alto terroir due to his research on this privileged site. This is his story in the first person.

35 Harvests

“Don Melchor has received many recognitions throughout its life, but this one is very special, due to the magazine that grants it, its prestige, and the extensive coverage it has. It is a publication that reaches everyone and has a strong influence. This is why it has such a massive impact. You have to consider that to choose the best of the year, they tested 10,500 wines from all over the world. From that, they selected the top 100, and if you look at the list, it’s impressive. There are wines from the best and most prestigious wineries in the world. So, being number one among them is incredible.”

“It’s always a surprise to receive an award like this, even though Don Melchor was conceived as the premium wine of Concha y Toro, and we always work to make the best wine in the world. We’ve had 35 harvests, and by the second one, we were already selected among the top 100. If you look at the track record, we’ve been in the top 100 ten times over the years; in four of those, we were among the top 10, and now we’re number 1. This means we can say that it’s the first Chilean wine to demonstrate that excellent wines can be made here. That’s why we’re very happy with Don Melchor, and with Concha y Toro, but also, and very importantly, for Chile, as it consolidates itself as a producer of great wines, and that’s very important for the industry and the country. It’s true that in some places, Chilean wine is still known mostly for good prices. But the truth is, we’ve been working for over 20 years to change that image.”

“Making a great wine requires many conditions. The first is having the right terroir, which is a concept that encompasses the soil, climate, vineyard, and human team. Achieving an interaction between all of them is the key to making great wine, which takes years of experience. The Puente Alto terroir consists of 125 hectares on the northern terrace of the Maipo River, at the foot of the Andes, with Andean soil origin and a climate marked by cold night winds and warmer daytime temperatures, which allows us to ripen, preserve, and store. But reaching the maximum expression of the vineyard requires a lot of research and learning. That’s why in 1997, we began the work of subdividing the vineyard, because after many observations, I realized it showed different paths, colors, and growth patterns. I thought that diversity should be leveraged, that we had to work in a specific way in the spaces the vineyard was showing us. We started studying the soil, even doing a thesis with the University of Paris, and after five years, we divided the terroir into 151 plots, where each one requires different management, and each gives a distinctive note or flavor. The selection of all these produces the final wine, which is the best expression of all the plots.”

“The production of a wine is different each season due to the climate and other changing factors, so the challenge is to seek the best expression of that year while maintaining its history and personality. Now, the cycle is always the same. The first phase is spent in the vineyards observing the evolution, being the guardian of the terroir. Around mid-March and April, the harvest takes place. Then comes the key moment, in June, when the final blend is made, involving two people: a French winemaker and myself. We began working with Jaques Boissenot and now with Eric. They’ve also been consultants for some of the most prestigious châteaux in Bordeaux, France.”

“It’s true that this is a task we could do alone, but I’ve always believed it’s very important to have an external perspective, to open our eyes, to question us. Now, in all this process, there can be differences and discussions, but in the end, what matters is the wine. There’s no room for personal tastes here. We all have a clear vision of the spirit of Don Melchor, a wine with strong character, very Andean, but with the elegance of the great wines.”

The Winning Harvest

“The 2021 harvest showed some signs that things were going well. It was a textbook year, where everything came together perfectly, including the climate and rainfall. Of course, there are years that require extreme attention during the harvest, where you need a lot of sensitivity. But, by the time of the blend, you could tell something really good was coming, one of the great harvests. But of course, it’s not done yet, as it then spends 15 months in barrels and another year in bottles. In all of this, there’s a lot of technology, science, and research. That’s essential. But the beautiful thing is that there’s also a lot to perceive through the senses. For that, experience is key.”

“The 2021 harvest produced 18,000 cases, which is similar to other top wines from around the world. What Wine Spectator highlighted is that it’s a number of bottles that allows it to reach many parts of the world, and that’s very important to them because it enables a vast customer base. And it’s obviously much more complex to produce a great wine with that quantity than one for 200 cases.”

“For Don Melchor to become its own winery within Concha y Toro in 2019 was a pivotal point in our positioning strategy, because it was a way of communicating that Don Melchor is a special wine, that there’s a dedicated team behind it, and a unique philosophy in its production. Ultimately, Don Melchor is a winery focused on one wine, the best wine. It’s a very tangible way to communicate. And the consumer understood it that way. Also, this is how the world’s great wines are made.”

Thirty Years with Don Melchor

“I’m lucky to have been working with Don Melchor for over 30 years. I was very young when I started, but the adrenaline and responsibility of making the best wine in the world remain. I studied Agronomy and Oenology at PUC, but in 2011, I went to the University of Bordeaux, the most important in the world regarding wine, to study at the Institute of Wine Sciences, the place where the great wines come from. It helped me greatly to expand my perspective and knowledge. Now, dedicating my entire life to one single wine was a gamble, that’s true. But now the results are there. It was a fundamental decision.”

“Only 6% of Don Melchor’s production is sold in Chile. It used to be 10%. We export to 70 countries, mainly the United States, Brazil, China, and Europe. It’s very interesting that, in recent years, the consumer base has become younger. Because one might think Don Melchor is a wine for adults, but there are many young people buying it. And this has been part of our strategy to create a wine that is a contemporary classic, a wine that values its history but also wants to be current, modern, and futuristic, reaching all ages.”

“Only one wine in history has been chosen twice as the best wine in the world. It’s hard to repeat. But there are two important things. The first is that once you’ve been number 1, you remain in the group of those who have been. And second, we always wake up with the same drive to make the best wine in the world, as we’ve done in every harvest for over 30 years.”

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