Winemaker Notes
Blend: 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Carmenere, 5% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The current release of their second wine is the 2020 Epu. It's selected from the same terroir and vineyard in Puente Alto, one of the most reputed places for Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile, but from the younger vines (five to 20 years old) and harvested a little earlier to preserve acidity and fruit. In the warm and dry 2020 vintage, the wine was produced with a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Carmenere, 5% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, usually higher in Cabernet and lower in Carmenere than Almaviva. It has red ripe berries, the textbook blackberries and cassis and some creamy oak.
-
Wine Spectator
Shows lovely floral blueberry and loam notes up front, while the fleshy core of concentrated blackberry and cassis grabs your attention and lingers nicely around saline and iron notes. Ends with firm, dusty tannins and hints of dark chocolate. Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Born in a warm and dry vintage, this wine has a dense fruit-forward nose, exhibiting maraschino cherry and a light note of green bell pepper. It’s well structured and delivers plenty of fruit flavors. Plum, blackberry and cherry merge with vanilla and herbs alongside moderate acidity. The finish is long and offers hints of tobacco.
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.