Concha y Toro, Puente Alto (Alto Maipo, Chile) Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

 Just as the charm of Scotch depends on a whiff of peat smoke (except on Islay, where it is a gust), I’ve always associated the charm of the best Cabernet Sauvignons with having well-integrated aromas and flavors of oak barrels, both old and new. Winemakers, perhaps believing the taste is out of fashion, often downplay the use of wood, although, fortunately, they continue to make beautiful oak-flavored wines. I think that winemaker Enrique Tirado has done that task almost perfectly with his 2020 Don Melchor, knitting the wood flavors and aromas into the mainly red berry fruit and achieving the attendant flavors of unsweetened chocolate and pecan nuttiness of tannins by employing about 70 percent new oak and 30 percent second use. Although somewhat complex, the wine mainly shines for its luxurious, yet properly lean, harmony which comes out with sufficient aeration. (My first notes on opening were that it was closed and lacked freshness – but I’m good at waiting.) All is all, another delightful, well-crafted wine from this estate in the shadows of the Andes.