Presentation
In 1997, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and Don Alfonso Larraín, President of Concha y Toro, signed a partnership agreement to create a great Franco-Chilean wine called Almaviva. The estate includes a mansion, a winery, and a 50-hectare vineyard bringing together three typically Bordeaux grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Carmenère. This great wine is the result of the successful meeting of two cultures: Chile offers its soil, climate, and vineyard; France brings its expertise and traditions in winemaking.
The vintage
The 2024 vintage is characterized by its cool climate profile, offering remarkable fruit, freshness, and density. It is a well-balanced vintage full of character that superbly showcases the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Location
Located in the highest part of the Maipo Valley, in the central region of Chile, Puente Alto is known for offering ideal conditions for the cultivation of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is here that 65 hectares have been exclusively reserved for Almaviva.
Terroir
Among the remarkable characteristics of Puente Alto are its poor and rocky soils, composed of a layer of clay loam up to 50 centimeters deep, then sandy loam, gravel, and stones. These alluvial soils ensure optimal drainage and provide a particular minerality, as well as a lower pH, contributing to exceptional quality, remarkable balance, and great elegance of the wines.
Winemaking
The winemaking room is composed of two spaces equipped with stainless steel tanks adapted to the size of each plot of the vineyard. This is where maceration and alcoholic fermentation take place. The must is first cooled to promote the extraction of colors and aromas contained in the skins. It is then heated to allow the alcoholic fermentation and final maceration to take place. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally, just before or immediately after the free-run wine is drained into new French oak barrels. The skins and seeds are then gently pressed in basket presses; a small proportion of the press wine is incorporated into the final blend.
Ageing
The wines stay about ten months in the Grand Cellar before being transferred to the second-year cellar. After six to eight more months of aging, they are clarified with egg white, then racked into stainless steel tanks before bottling.
Varietals
Cabernet sauvignon : 70%
Carménère : 24%
Cabernet franc : 4%
Petit verdot : 2%
Tasting
Deep ruby red, intense and opaque. Complex, ample and well-defined, Almaviva 2024 seduces with its pure and precise aromatic profile. Vibrant notes of black fruits – blackcurrant and blackberry – evolve upon swirling towards elegant notes of incense, cedar, earthy undergrowth, and sweet spices. On the palate, the wine reveals a remarkable balance between fullness and elegance, freshness and maturity, depth and persistence. The tannins are round and well-polished, giving a velvety structure that enhances the juicy character and immediate appeal of the vintage. The wine offers perfect harmony, born from an atypical seasonal combination, marked by a hot summer following a cold spring and preceding a cool autumn. Endowed with exceptional volume and tension, Almaviva 2024 captures the essence of the unique terroir of Puente Alto.
Reviews
Wine Advocate
James Suckling
Vinous