Wine guide
Almaviva Wines
When two winemaking titans such as Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Concha y Toro get together, you can safely bet that marvellous things will happen. Setting out to create “a grand cru classé” that echoed the famous Bordelaise style but was grown in the new world in Puenta Alta (Maipo Valley), the duo created Almaviva. To date, there are over 20 joint ventures in Chile such as Almaviva. It seems that while the Chilean terroir is stupendous, the winemaking ability is, perhaps, not.
Cabernet Sauvignon that puts Chile on the winemaking map
Unsurprisingly, blends at Almaviva are essentially based on the Bordeaux style, blending Cabernet Sauvignon with Carmenére and Cabernet Franc. The joint venture saw Concha y Toro donate a section of their Don Melchior vineyard (104 acres, average vine age: 28 years), arguably one of the best in the region. This has been the subject of much discussion among Chilean winemakers, many of whom believe it was a mistake to give up such hallowed land for a JV. Savoir-faire is, of course, à la français, along with the winemaker, Michel Frou. Frou has been at the vineyard since 2007. The state of the art winery (where the wine spends 16 months ageing in new French oak) was designed by Chilean architect Martín Hurtado.
An unprecedented growth promise
Almaviva is currently Chile’s fourth most expensive wine, averaging a price of €134 per bottle for 2015 in Q2 2019. Growth here is a fine wine investors’ utopia: up €40 (or almost 50%) on release price in December 2017. This is practically unheard of for a new world wine.
Despite being the only wine of the winery, Almaviva is most definately Chile’s answer to Mouton Rothschild. It was one of the first estates to realise the potential of the new world wine scene and as such, it is not only one of the oldest, but considered one of the best in the country. The 2015 scored the perfect 100 (one of just one of three Chilean wines to do so that year). The same vintage was also crowned James Suckling’s Wine of the Year in 2017 proving that while the new world wine industry may still be unfolding, some producers have more than a head start.
Despite being the only wine of the winery, Almaviva is most definately Chile’s answer to Mouton Rothschild. It was one of the first estates to realise the potential of the new world wine scene and as such, it is not only one of the oldest, but considered one of the best in the country. The 2015 scored the perfect 100 (one of just one of three Chilean wines to do so that year). The same vintage was also crowned James Suckling’s Wine of the Year in 2017 proving that while the new world wine industry may still be unfolding, some producers have more than a head start.