2001 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor Puente Alto - Chile, Maipo Valley (4/23/2005)
Dark inky color. Nose of chocolate, coffee and smoky/earthy notes. The fruit is on the palate, showing plums and lots of dark fruit. Tannins are soft, no hard edges, 'seamless' is a term I have heard used to describe a wine, and this wine is it. 93 pts.

I just had a bottle of this given to me. Sounds like it's ready to go. Or do you think giving it some time would be of any benefit?

If you like 'em young, it's ready to go - I poured two glasses and the rest into the decanter, which we finished in about 3 hours, the last glasses were the best. It doesn't have anything yet in the way of secondary characteristics, so if you like that sort of thing, hold off.

It's certainly worth opening now so you can see if you like it well enough to get more while it's readily available at a reasonable price. I picked up a few...we might have to open some when you come into town this summer.

I had this weekend with a Lobel's Tenderloin.....what a good, fun wine to drink. I agree that after 2 or so hours in the decanter, the wine sings. Very smooth and silky. I praise the PLCB on this dandy.

We had this in Florida last week. I think it will improve a little, but this is no long term ager.

Board-O, what would you rate this? I've seen a lot of this wine at Costco, and haven't purchased any. Worth picking up?

Depends on the price. I didn't take any notes but remember it as about a 91 point wine.

Dark ruby/black colour; opaque. Huge nose of blackberry, vanilla, dark chocolate, spice, raspberry, oak. Full-bodied, big wine, but quite balanced, showing notes of blackberry, cola, vanilla, spice, and raspberry. Long finish, 40-45s, with blackberry notes. Drinking quite well right now, I see no reason to cellar this for a long period of time. 92 points (05/13/2005).

I bought a bottle of this at Costco this weekend and enjoyed with some grilled lamb. Bottle was opened for about 2 hours before consuming. Very inky black/purple in color, with nice aromas of cherries and blackberries. "Seamless" is a nice expression for this wine, indeed. $37 at Costco. I would give it a 91 or 92; not the 95 that WS gave it, but a very, very nice wine.

Definitely worth the mid-30 price tag. Really dense chocolate, coffee, dark cherry nose. Its been well reviewed here, so I'll just add that this wine plays perfectly well off of seared foie gras. Also had it with a chocolate, espresso glazed short rib and it did a fantastic job there as well. Finish long and subtle, not overwhelming.

I liked it! Agree that is is low 90's, not quite the 95 from ws.

Welcome to VC, winenose!!

I thought this an interesting and distinctive wine, but a 95???? We enjoyed this with friends, but no one had this jump out of the pack of wines we had.......


DBW

My opinion also, dbw.

How do you think it compares to the 2000? Has anyone tried them side by side?

I thoght it was a nice bottle of wine, but not a 95, maybe a 91

What strikes me about this thread is that aparently all of us think the WS over-rated this wine. I wonder why.

Because they did?

Wise guy. I meant, "I wonder why the WS over-rated it."

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2001 Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon - Puente Alto, Chile $45/$37.99
Decanted 1hr. Good nose of currants and faint mint. Flavors of dark currants with some dark cherry and with light notes of plum and tobacco rolled up in a mocha frame. After it has decanted for 2-3 hrs, this full bodied Cab has a smooth, silky texture with some depth on the palate and occasional flashes of a delicate core amidst a definite acidic component which persists on the polished finish. S93 10/14/2005