One of the principal’s of our tasting group had a recent birthday. He therefore picked the theme. It turns out we tasted the Wine Spectators top 4 scoring Don Melchor. All of our group collects these faithfully, but the price has crept up in our monopoly to 80.00. This tasting was going to be my tipping point.
Started with JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenhur Auslese 2005. Lacking on the nose. Typical apple palate, but again lacking in verve and acidity. Sweet fruit. Thick and almost lumpy when pouring. I would like more GREEN apple notes. With an Auslese we are always confused when to open, at the start as a sweet aperitif or the end as the dessert.
2000 Don Melchor. Decanted 4 hours consumed over another 4. The nose never opened and only showed menthol and heat. Palate of oak smoke, dark fruits. Great long finish. If they are all as good as the 2000 we are in for a good tasting.
2001 Don Melchor. Killer nose of warm cinnamon and apple oatmeal, oven fresh bread. Sadly the palate did not live up to the nose. Oak smoke and tar, dark fruit, but with a short clipped finish.
2003 Don Melchor. Forgot what the nose was about. Sorry. The palate was huge though. As per the other two, but with a extra layer of menthol. This finish rolled forever.
2004 Don Melchor. A different nose for sure. Raspberry compote dominated. The nose was a sign of the palate as it was the juiciest red fruit palate of the night. Nice long finish.
All 4 were delicious wines. All 4 had great balance and were in a good drinking window. I liked the 04 initially but the 03 grew on me. Those 2 were the wotn, with the 2000 not far behind. The tannins were well managed on these wines compared to Melchor’s of the 90’s. Yes I will be a buyer still. Thank goodness for Alberta pricing.
Love Don Melchor and find it YIYO to be the best representation of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Southern Hemisphere, and it provides great value at its price point. I think they show their best with ten years of age on them, so I hate to hear the 2001 wasn’t up to par. That 2003 certainly has menthol/eucalyptus to spare…we killed a magnum on NYE.
Nice notes, Scott. I’ve greatly enjoyed the '04 on a couple of occasions. Were all of these still showing quite young? Based on your notes, it appears they were, but I’m not sure.
Still have a few older vintages, although I haven’t bought any in a long while. Favourites are '96 & '99. I’m with Tex thinking they’re best at 10+ from vintage. I’ll finish off the '96 this year and the '99 soon after. I think the '01 will wait.
Re price - When I drank more cabs I was ok with it at $40-50ish. If I was still interested in them, I don’t think I’d see the value at current release prices.
They have an iodine flavor that is rather excessive when the wines are young. I have a few 03-05 bottles, I figured I’d see where they go when they’re a bit older. Maybe I should try one now.
They certainly were showing young. The colours were almost identical, with no bricking on the rim. I would say the 2000 has 3-5 years more for optimal drinking then good for another 5. The same formula could be applied to all.
That is a good price. I bought my 97’s,99’s and 2000’s for 30.00 Canadian which back then was, what 19.00US.
So far 1999 is my favourite, but then again I have not tasted anything older than 1997.