Emily

9.1

Refreshing sparking dry rose. Made with merlot and sangiovese grapes.
Sanctuary Vineyards
Anniversary trip 2024 — 2 years ago

TJ Maxwell

8.9

Big fruit. Pretty balanced — 3 years ago

Julia Bro

9.2

Cooking class with Beau Mac from Sanctuary — 5 years ago

Donald Williams

9.2

Really nice wine. No discernible heat, despite the 15.3% ABV. — 7 years ago

with Bonnie

Severn G

9.1

Christmas 🎄 2017
Trying for a diverse group of wines, hopefully crowd-pleasers, needing to pair with a large assortment of tasty treats today.
Happy holidays to everyone.

Getting back to this bottle after returning home to our sanctuary away from the Holiday family craziness. When we first opened the wine was tight and closed up on the nose. Now back to it after several hours, the nose has a faint cider vinegar and ripe peach notes. Palate is full on kiwi/apple/peach, and evolving at every sip. — 9 years ago

Amanda bee

9.5

Sweet, perfect red. — 9 years ago

Manjiry Tamhane

8.9

Lots of black fruit flavours balanced with pepper and cedar wood spice. Lots going on! — 9 years ago

Julieta Ho

9.1

Good pinot noir from new Zealand. Smooth good finishing and not heavy, it pairs well with all sort of dishes, even with a pasta and scallop. — 10 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

I had this lovely wine last Sunday night at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast. This is the best Cabernet blend from Vasse Felix and is different from the other premium Cabernet blends in Margaret River because it has 17% old vine Malbec (originally planted by Dr. Tom Cullity himself in 1967 and are the original vines planted in Margaret River). Of course it was infanticide drinking this superb wine at only 7 years of age………but sometimes you have to do these things!! I swear I could detect the presence of the Malbec on the nose as it was so different from the other big name neighbours like Moss Wood, Woodlands and Cullen. A beautiful floral nose of roses and violets. I have been collecting the Tom Cullity since the first vintage in 2013 through to 2019 but for some reason never bought the 2017. This is the first Cullity we’ve had. Just waiting for my cellared examples to get some age. HH gave this wine 98 points and a drinking window of 2021 to 2041. — 2 years ago

Wade Inganamort

9.6

Smooth, complex, great color — 6 years ago

Cameron Etezadi

9.2

Nicely aged coastal Pinot. Dried currants and licorice notes. Deep ruby body. Nicely aged but nearing the end of its drinkability. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

The first Don Melchor from my storage and it’s very good but still early. I won’t open another for at least 5 years or more. The nose on first open showed ruby dark currants. As it opened up in the two hour decant, it’s nose changed and showed some earthy funkiness with a fair amount of mushroom. Dark currants, blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, overly baked strawberries, blueberries, black cherry cola, dark dry soils, dry crushed rocks, dry stems, soft leather, lead pencil shavings, dry stones, mushrooms, darker Asian spices, mint, dry herbs, anise, tarry notes, black tea, lilacs and fresh & dry dark florals. The body is full, round, lush & elegant. The tannins are round & beautiful, but only 50% resolved. The palate matches the nose very closely. Dark currants, blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, overly baked strawberries, blueberries, black cherry cola, dark chocolate & mocha, dark dry soils, dry crushed rocks, dry stems, soft leather, lead pencil shavings, tobacco with ash, dry stones, darker Asian spices, mint, dry herbs, anise, tarry notes, black tea, lilacs and fresh & dry dark florals. The acidity is round & beautiful. The length, balance, structure and tension are extremely solid. The finish is still big, full, round, richly elegant and lasts minutes. Photos of; their beautiful Estate, harvested fruit, a library cellar that I think we’d all like to raid and their barrel room with tasting area. Producer history and notes...Concha y Toro was founded by Don Melchor de Santiago Concha y Toro and his wife, Emiliana Subercaseaux, in 1883. They are the largest producer of wines from Latin America and are headquartered in Santiago, Chile. They own 8,720 hectares spread throughout Chile's major wine regions of; Maipo, Maule, Rapel, Colchagua, Curico, and Casablanca. He started the winery with grape varieties that he brought from Bordeaux. The grapes he brought were; Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Merlot, and Carmenère. Concha y Toro started exporting wine in March of 1933 to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. In 1950, the winery began to acquire more vineyards. They also began the process of adapting its wine to new markets and meeting a higher demand. In 1971, Eduardo Guilisasti Tagle became Chairman of the Board and succeeded in expanding the company. In 1987, they partnered with the U.S. importer Banfi Vintners. This partnership advanced sales and were able to incorporate more advanced technology in all stages of their production. They also started using small French oak barriques that further advanced the quality of their wines. In 2011, Concha y Toro bought the California portfolio of wines from Brown-Forman. The portfolio included these properties; Fetzer, Bonterra, Five River Wines, Bel Arbor Wines, Jekel Vinyards, Coldwater Creek, Sanctuary Wines Little Black Dress Wines. They are now a huge company with nearly a billion dollars in revenues annually. Don Melchor was Chile’s first iconic wine and has received with few exceptions consistent 90+ Parker scores since 1995. Most in the mid 90 range. This 04 is an excellent example of what they can produce in Chile. If I put this in a blind tasting, many would guess Bordeaux and some Napa Cabernet. — 9 years ago

Elin Krogh

9.1

Frisk og god — 10 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

Brief notes at a good Italian restaurant in Sanctuary Cove. We don’t often drink Amarone but we love it when we do. Rich and supple, blackberry like liquid Fruit and Nut milk chocolate. Touch of liquorice. An excellent match with Beef Ragu with Pappardelle pasta. — 2 years ago

Paul J

9.0

Complimentary half bottle from The Sanctuary in Kiawah. Not bad. Good starter to vaca and the night. — 3 years ago

with Brooke

Chris Klecka

9.0

Drank at Sanctuary dinner with Johnston family, Michelle and Jessie — 7 years ago

Lyn Farmer

9.0

From cool climate Elgin. .This wine has 91% SB and 9% Barrel aged Semillon
Medium lemon yellow. Crisp acidity with grapefruit, lemon and lime zest plus a waxy smoky character from the Semillon. Zesty white pepper and citrus is very persistent — 7 years ago

Nate Wilson

9.2

Fruity, interesting blend of viognier, rousanne, and Albariño. Creamy throughout. Nice acidic lemon-lime finish. Great with scallops. Surprisingly good! — 9 years ago

Lisa Childers

9.0

Sanctuary with Lee — 9 years ago

Richard Parks III

9.3

Love this Beauj! Fresh tiny dry fruity a teense funk cold slender silhouetted sanctuary dance with me are you flirting funky lady? No, you are a college professor. Respect. — 9 years ago