Almaviva 2019
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Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesAn exceptional vintage from the joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild (Mouton) and Concha y Toro, this grows at a parcel of the old Tocornal vineyard in Puente Alto. Almaviva’s 148 acres of vines surround the winery on a terrace above the north bank of Maipo River. The cool elevation (2,130 feet) and the alluvial soils take cabernet in an elegant direction, rarely found outside Bordeaux, and rarely reaching the level of this latest release. It made me homesick for Chile, tasting the salt air of the coast and the mountain air of the Andes, the velvet-texture of carmenère (23 percent of the blend) and the cranberry and currant freshness of the fruit. Tight, floral, spicy and youthfully firm, this wine’s subtle power will sustain it for decades.
Almaviva is the name of both winery and wine born of the joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Viña Concha y Toro. It is also that of Pierre de Beaumarchais' character, the "Count of Almaviva" in his Marriage of Figaro, a work Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart later turned into one of the most popular operas ever. The classical epithet, laid out in Pierre de Beaumarchais' fair hand, shares the label with insignia of pre-hispanic roots symbolizing a union of European and American cultures that at every level has created successive bonds over centuries that have evolved a unique identity. The recent synthesis of French tradition and American soil has delivered an exceptional wine embodying the best of both worlds, a Primer Orden that really shines.
The Maipo Valley is Chile’s most famous wine region. Set in the country’s Central Valley, it is warm and quite dry, often necessitating the use of irrigation. Alluvial soils predominate but are supplemented with loam and clay.
The climate in Maipo is best-suited for ripe, full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (the region’s most widely planted grape), Merlot, Syrah and Carmenère, a Bordeaux variety that has found a successful home in Chile.
White wines are also produced with great prosperity, especially near the cooler coast, include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.