Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A joint venture of Concha y Toro and Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Almaviva made a wonderful red in 2010. Full-bodied, it shows purity of fruit, with violets, currants and hints of mint, and has ultra-fine tannins and a long, intense finish. Needs three or four years to soften. Mostly cabernet sauvignon.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Almaviva, the product of a very cool, immensely challenging vintage that concluded with an extremely late harvest that lasted until May, including a historic 8.8-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in February. It marks the first vintage of Petit Verdot's inclusion in the blend and coincides with an increased focus on the strength of cooler vintages in Alto Maipo. The nose offers a beautiful medley of mature dark fruits, dried flowers, underbrush, dried mint and cocoa powder, introducing a plush yet buoyant and immensely finessed palate. It concludes with an even-keeled, gently rich finish framed by lifted acidity and discreet tannic grip.
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Wine Spectator
A svelte red, with excellent focus and length to the powerful dark plum, slate, dark currant and dried blackberry flavors. The black olive notes grow in intensity and join bittersweet chocolate accents on the long, well-framed finish.
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.
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.
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.