Source: James suckling, Issue Date: Tuesday, December 27, 2022 (JS-97)

A very refined and polished red with currants and hints of cedar, chocolate and hazelnuts. Subtle and fine. Medium- to full-bodied, creamy and nicely textured. Friendly and caressing. Closing down. 68% cabernet sauvignon, 23% carmenere, 5% cabernet franc, 3% petit verdot and 1% merlot. Drink now or hold. Will age nicely.

Source: Issue 256 End of August 2021, The Wine Advocate, Issue Date: 30th Aug 2021 (RP-95+)

The 2019 Almaviva is a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Carmenere (from Peumo), 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Merlot, higher in Carmenere and reflecting a warmer and drier vintage when then bottled wine reached 15% alcohol. It fermented with destemmed grapes in stainless steel and matured in French oak barrels, 75% of them new, for 18 months. Here, the Carmenere adds herbal freshness and changes the aromatic profile when compared with the 2019 Epu. 2019 was a good year for Carmenere, which suffers in extremely warm years like 2017, but in moderately warm years like 2019, the variety displays that herbal character and has good density. It’s full-bodied and round, with saturated tannins, tasty, spicy and long, with a dry, serious finish. It’s balsamic, with notes of camphor and a silky and velvety texture. 200,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2021.
Drink Date: 2021 – 2030

Source: Winemaker,

Established in 1997 as a joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Bordeaux’s Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chile’s Vina Concha y Toro, Almaviva is the fruit of a felicitous encounter and profound alliance between two historical wine families. It was the very first wine in Chile created under the French Chateau concept, the product of an exceptional terroir, one unique bodega and one technical team. A harmonious marriage of classic Bordeaux expertise and New World verve, Chile provides its soil, climate and vineyards, while France contributes its winemaking savoir-faire and traditions. The result is an exceptionally elegant and complex wine that has given prominence to Chile’s capacity to produce globally competitive top notch wines. On top of its refined quality and style, Almaviva has an impressive ageing potential, and can be enjoyed for the next 20 years or more. This is indeed a legendary Chilean wine that rightfully deserves to be regarded as one of the great wines of the world. 2019 is a magnifi?cent vintage, a worthy successor of the superb 2018, in line with the greatest Chilean vintages of the last twenty years. A vintage that is drier than average, 2019 bears smaller berries which is superb for all Bordeaux varieties. Generous in fruit and tremendous in quality, Almaviva 2019 is packed with rich colour, intense flavour and excellent freshness, length and balance. With its exceptional quality and ageing potential, this wine is destined to appreciate handsomely over the years.

Tasting Note: The nose is pure, precise and focused, revealing delicate and fine aromas of raspberry, cassis, blackberry and wild strawberry, with subtle notes of liquorice, coffee, ink and earth. The wine is juicy and voluminous, filling the mouth with polished and smooth tannins, leaving an overall impression of harmony, length and persistence. Its great structure and density are well balanced by good acidity, characteristic of the great terroir of Puente Alto that aligns ripeness and freshness in this superb and exceptional vintage.