There is a fascinating comparison in the current state of the 1995 Don Melchor, the 1997, and the 1997 Terrunyo from Concha y Toro’s Pirque Viejo vineyard. These three wines show the influence of three very different personalities and their approach to winegrowing.
The two Don Melchor vintages are from an estate vineyard in Puente Alto. Located on a stony terrace above the north bank of the Maipo River, the vineyard has a long history. Patricio Tapia, in an article for Decanter, noted that in 1945 the vineyard was producing Chile’s most expensive wine at the time, Fond du Cave, when Alfonso Chadwick Errázuriz purchased the property. Chadwick sold a large portion of the Puente Alto vineyard to Concha y Toro in 1968, and, later, in 1987, Goetz von Gersdorff made the first vintage of Concha y Toro’s top red wine, Don Melchor, from estate-grown grapes at Puente Alto.