About the Wine

Birthed as a project between Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA (owners of Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux) and Viña Concha y Toro S.A. in 1997 with a view to create an exceptional Franco-Chilean wine called Almaviva. 

The name comes from Count Almaviva who is the hero of The Marriage of Figaro, the famous play by Beaumarchais (1732-1799), later turned into an opera by the genius of Mozart.

The label, meanwhile, pays homage to Chile’s ancestral history, with three reproductions of a stylized design, which symbolizes the vision of the earth and the cosmos in the Mapuche civilization. The design appears on the kultrun, a ritual drum used by the Mapuche.

The label bears the name Almaviva in Beaumarchais’ own handwriting. Two great traditions thus join hands to offer the whole world a promise of pleasure and excellence.

Almaviva was the first wine in Chile created under this French Château concept, taking into account exceptional terroir, one unique bodega and one technical team – the three of which are dedicated exclusively to the production of one wine of unparalleled quality and excellence. It's excellence persits as one of the great wines of Chile.

This is a wine that epitomizes greatness with its intensity, structure and balance. It underlines the movement away from overdone, jammy wines to a neoclassicism with energy and finesse. It also highlights how South America, specifically Chile, has come into its own as a wine area, producing superb wines that can compete with the best in the world.

Reviews

A very fine and elegant Almaviva with fresh fruit and herb character. Medium-to-full body, tight and focused with very fine, linear tannins and a chocolate and light cedar undertone to the whole thing. Savory, too. Smoked meat and succulent. It's tight but opens with air. Classicism here. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 24% carmenere, 8% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Drink in 2021. ~ 97 pts, James Suckling. 

The 2016 harvest was complicated by rain in late April, which made them hurry up and finish two weeks earlier than normal. The year was also cooler, and the 2016 Almaviva, a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Carmenère, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot has less alcohol at 13.9% compared to 15% in 2014. The élevage was shortened to 16 months, and they decreased the percentage of new French barrels used—down to 77% from the 82% in the previous year. The wine is fresher and less marked by the oak, a more fluid version, with fine tannins. This is a little different, a lighter and fresher year. It was a very dry winter, complicated by rains. I found very good harmony and fine tannins, balance and freshness in one of the most elegant vintages I remember from Almaviva. This has contained power, very accessible tannins and no green notes at all. It's young but accessible and should develop nicely in bottle, as it has the balance and freshness. This is an elegant and fresh vintage for Almaviva, young and tender, taking advantage of the natural conditions for it. Well done! 180,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2017. ~95WA, #10 on WS Top 100 2019