2011 Chile

Last time I tasted the 2010, so now it's time for the second vintage, which is the 2011 Auma -- the top-of-the-range blend that changes with the vintage; in 2011, it contained Carménère (37%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), Malbec (18%), Syrah (13%) and Petit Verdot (7%) from their Los Lingues Estate in the mountain part of Colchagua, the Colchagua Andes appellation. The vines were planted in 2008 at 500-550 meters on clay and basalt soils. The uncrushed grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts in 600-liter oak barrels that are rolled and no pumps whatsoever are used. Each variety matured separately for two years in 225-liter barrels, except for the Syrah that goes into 400-liter barrels, all made of French oak. After the time in oak, the different wines are blended and put into egg-shaped cement vats for a further nine months before bottling, completing a total upbringing of some 33 months before the wine is put in bottle. There are plenty of notes of cigar ash, balsamic woods and some roasted aromas -- a quite classical Bordeaux blend -- with blackberries, tobacco and graphite. The wine is terribly balanced with great freshness, still marked by the élevage, but nothing a little bottle aging would not fix. A monumental kind of wine. 3,700 bottles produced.
Luis Gutiérrez - 31/12/2015

Almaviva was established in 1996 by Baron Philippe de Rothschild (of Ch. Mouton Rothschild) and Concha y Toro. Their aim was to create the first Bordeaux Grand Cru Classé equivalent in Chile. With 40 hectares of Concha y Toro's best Puente Alto vineyards and the steady hand of Patrick Leon (winemaker at Mouton and Opus One), the results have been nothing short of spectacular.

The nose is elegant and multi-layered, revealing a generous bouquet of ripe cassis, wild berries and violets, with underlying notes of vanillin, espresso bean and dark mocha. The palate is packed full of rich and dense fruit, yet there is a cool definition and character to the wine. The tannins are perfectly balanced and ripe. The cool growing season has no doubt balanced out the rich character of fruit with a real sense of harmony and balance.