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Tasting Epically at Quality Meats: Don Melchor, Alamaviva, Chateau Mouton Rothschild

Epically, defined as something which is done in an epic way, meaning in a lengthy, grand or important way, well we had it covered at Quality Meats.
Our November tasting has been in the planning for over a year.  The inspiration behind this originated from a 5 vintage vertical of Almaviva that the club had in its early days.  As a club, we’ve also been fortunate enough to have also tasted Concha y Toro’s Don Melchor as well as a young Mouton Rothschild.
This time around we thought it would be interesting to taste a well aged 1989 Mouton Rothschild from a great vintage and line this up against the best wines from Chile, the Don Melchor from Concha y Toro.  Of course, the natural inclination was that we should also explore what a collaboration of these two great winemakers could achieve with the 2009 Almaviva(Jeff Tenen, Wine club Miami founding member)

2013 DM Vintage– This season was the coldest in the history of Don Melchor, and this, along with harvesting 10 days later than usual, allowed the grapes to ripen slowly and reach the end of the season with exceptionally well-ripened tannins along with very good fruit expression, freshness, and personality.Winemaker Enrique Tirado tasting notesVARIETY:91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc.VINEYARD:Don Melchor Vineyard, Puente Alto D.O., Alto Maipo Valley

Nice ruby color sets up a lengthy finish

2015 DM Vintage-This very elegant wine presents tremendous aromatic expression with a predominance of small red fruit notes. It starts smooth and is friendly on the palate and continues with perfectly balanced flavours and a long finish, where the balance and delicacy of the tannins reappear with great expression of this vintage’s lively fruit. Winemaker Enrique Tirado tasting notes VARIETY:93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot y 1% Merlot. VINEYARD:Don Melchor Vineyard, D.O. Puente Alto, Alto Maipo Valley.

1989 Mouton Rothschild– Freshly picked blackberries turn into minty dark chocolate and oozing caramel with domineering eucalyptus on the nose. It becomes yet more complex on the palate thanks to layers upon layers of spices and sage plus fat and rounded tannins. There’s a long finish with a bitter aftertaste, suggesting this could do with another 10 years or more of bottle aging. This is a Mouton I found massive at the time, then elegant and slightly austere years later, but today true to its former glory. Like the amazing 1947, it should not be forgotten. Tasting notes James Suckling.
2002 Chateau Mouton Rothschild– Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 2002 Mouton-Rothschild is a wine that burned brightly in its youth, though recent encounters suggest that maybe it is beginning to flag as it enters what you might call middle age. Here, it has a conservative bouquet with blackberry, cedar, warm bricks and melted tar aromas – an unfussy, uncomplicated, quite serious Pauillac bouquet. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity. It feels lively on the entry with fine tannin, a Mouton that is nimble on its feet with a gentle grip towards the finish, which offers a satisfying aftertaste of spice and clove. It does not mirror some of the outstanding bottles I consumed within the first decade of its life, and peering into this First Growth, it is difficult to see whether it will repay those who cellar it longer. Tasted December 2016. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
2009 Almaviva-Classically built, with a compact and fine-tuned frame giving way to rich cassis, black cherry reduction, fig paste, spice box and licorice notes woven with fine tannins, juicy acidity and a firm, minerally spine. The finish reverberates the focused flavors, but should expand with mid-term cellaring. Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Drink now through 2020.Tasting notes Wine Spectator.
Nice line up and a sweet finish capped the night

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