Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby red color. The nose is intense and elegant, bursting with fresh blackcurrant and red berries, followed by a complex, layered profile with subtle notes hints of vanilla, earth, and licorice. The cooler vintage 2024 brings out aprominent cassis note, accentuating the classic, refined character of Puente Alto Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine offers a luxurious mouthful, a juicy and voluptuous texture, and a great smoothness of tannins. It balances vibrant acidity withintense fruit ripeness, concluding in a long and savory finish. This delicious EPU is the perfect introduction to the exclusive world of Almaviva.
Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Carmenere, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The Almaviva identity is clear and sound here, with generosity, suppleness and roundness. The wine is not loud, with subtle currants and tobacco leaves as well as a hint of quince and sweet spice. Supple sweetness from carmenere with thoughtful, soft-grained tannins and medium body. Still juicy on its long finish. A blend of 80% cabernet sauvignon, 15% carmenere, 2% merlot, 2% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2024 Epu is a beautiful expression of a cool vintage, opening slowly with a classically informed bouquet of sweet tobacco, red pepper, graphite and a ripe black-fruited core, gradually developing floral overtones in the glass. The mouthfeel fuses a sleek, seamless texture with refined sturdiness, carrying through to a poised, layered finish. This admirably conveys the vintage's perfumed, effortless nature, making it a striking introduction to Almaviva. The blend is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Carmenère, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.
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Vinous
The 2024 EPU (80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Carmenere, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot) from Puente Alto, Maipo, was aged for 12 months in French oak, 10% new. The nose opens with fine red cherry and plum, alongside balsamic herbs such as oregano and thyme. Slightly indulgent, the palate is juicy and energetic, with fine-grained tannins and a light grip built around its red-fruited core. Compared with previous vintages, it stands out for its more intense, clearly defined palate.
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.