Few names in the world of fine wine command as much respect as Don Melchor, Chile’s iconic Cabernet Sauvignon that has redefined excellence in winemaking. At the helm is Enrique Tirado, the visionary winemaker whose dedication to terroir, precision, and innovation has cemented Don Melchor’s place. In this interview with Pursuitist, Tirado shares the artistry behind crafting a wine of unparalleled depth, the legacy of Chile’s Maipo Valley, and what it takes to maintain a standard of perfection that wine connoisseurs and collectors treasure.
PURSUITIST: Tell me about Don Melchor and Chile?
Enrique Tirado: Chile is a long and narrow country. We have the different valleys from the north to the south, different valleys in the central area. We have Maipo Valley. But more precisely, we have a small appellation within Maipo Valley, Puente alto. Puente Alto is a really unique terroir. We are at the foot of the Andes Mountains, so we have a huge influence from the Andes in terms of soil, weather, everything. We have a stony soil. You know, for making a great a great wine, you need the best combination between the soil, the weather and the vineyard, so you need to achieve the perfect combination.
So we have a Stoney soil, rocky soil, in terms of nutrients. It is cool, but at the same time, it’s a complex soil. It’s not only a stony and sandy soil- we have different elements, different nutrients, a different amount of water. So we have a great complexity in the soil. And why that is important? Because at the end, if you have a great complexity in the wine you can you can achieve good complexity, great complexity in the final one. Then the weather is moderate by the Andes influence every night, cold wind blow down from the Andes and refresh this area at the foot of the Andes. So we have a great difference between day and night temperature. In a summertime ripening system, as a maximum temperature, we have 90 degree Fahrenheit, 8585 to 90. At nine, we have 50/40 degrees Fahrenheit. So we have a great difference between night and day, night and day, different temperature. So that is very important. So we have the soil, we have the weather model by the Andes, and we have one single vineyard.
So we are located on the north bank of the Michael River. We have 95% Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard. Then we have Cabernet Franc, Merlot and petite verde. But 95 is the Cabernet Sauvignon, so the base is the Cabernet Sauvignon variety. So the first vintage was 1987, and at the beginning the wine was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. We added Merlot the year 1995 and then we added Cabernet France since the year 1999.
PURSUITIST: Why did you decide to start adding different grapes?
Enrique Tirado: Good question. We tried to improve the Cabernet Sauvignon expression when we added 1% of Merlot, 2% of Cab Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. The overall idea is to improve the Cabernet Sauvignon expression.
PURSUITIST: How do you decide what the final blend is going to be?
Enrique Tirado: By tasting. Really good question, because behind it, behind the process, it’s true. We have a lot of live data, the different information, right when we make the blend, only by tasting, looking for the best combination.
PURSUITIST: How do you know it’s the right one?
Enrique Tirado: In the end, the final decision is a wine that can produce the best emotion when you taste the wine, a wine that really expressed its terroir, its origin. We try to respect the natural expression, but a wine that really can produce the best emotion when you taste the wine.
PURSUITIST: How do you guide people on when to drink it? If they drink it, is it better to drink it Young? Is it better to hold on to it?
Enrique Tirado: You can drink every day. Don’t mature. As I said, you can drink after 3,4,5, years, and you can age for 10,20, 30,40, years. What happens? The wine is going to get more and more complexity when the wine is 10 years. After 10 years, the wine is going to show a good balance between the complexity the red fruit. It’s a good time. It’s a good period. Eight to 12 years, you can see good balance between the red fruit, the complexity, the texture. I like this spirit, but then the wine is going to get more and more complex, with different aromas, different flavors. It’s difficult to imagine the kind of aromas, the kind of flavors, the balance that the wine is going to get. So which is the best? It’s depend. What do you want? If you prefer a good balance between red fruit, some complexity, then eight to 12 years. If you prefer more complexity, you can wait for 20, 30, years, but the mature 10 to 15, I think this is a really good, good time, but also 21 after four years, it’s amazing. You can drink right now the wine shows amazing.
PURSUITIST: What do you think people need to know about what do you think the difference is between Chilean wine versus Napa or other regions?
Enrique Tirado: In Puente Alto we have a specific relationship between the soil, the weather and the vineyard. Also, we created our own Cabernet Sauvignon selection, the material, the vine, the vineyard, the vineyard, the Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Bordeaux 150 years ago, but we created our own selection, so it’s difficult to compare with Napa or France because we have a really specific place, in terms of soil, weather, and also in terms of governance of your material. It’s different, and we try to make a wine that really expresses the vineyard, it’s origin.
PURSUITIST: Have you seen climate change affect your vineyard?
Enrique Tirado: Great question. If you see the average temperature since the beginning of 87 to the last winter, the average is almost the same, which is the difference in the last 10, 12, years we have more extreme conditions. We have average, normal year, but also we have warmer and cooler than 20,30 degrees. Years ago, the warmest year was 2020, the coolest year was 13. So in the last years, we have more extreme conditions. And in that sense, that is very important, because today we have the information how we can manage the vineyard in a warmer year, in a cooler year. We are very concerned about that. And one very important point we have- we have the Andes Mountain.
PURSUITIST: You have been at Don Melchor for over 30 years. What are you most proud of, and what are you hoping to do in the next 30 years?
Enrique Tirado: I want to be in Don Melchor for many years. I think I still feel young, as a young winemaker, because every year is a new innovation. Every year is a new vintage.
PURSUITIST: What advice would you give to new winemakers or someone that wants to go into wine making?
Enrique Tirado: A lot of passion. Spend a lot of time at the beginning in order to understand the soil, the vineyard, the weather. You need to understand, how is the soil, how is the weather, how is the vineyard, and how they are working together.
PURSUITIST: If you weren’t a wine winemaker, what would you be doing?
Enrique Tirado: Sailing. I love to sail. I try to play golf, to play summer sport. I try to spend with my family. But I love to make wine.
