2020 Viña Almaviva
Producer: Baron Philippe de Rothschild & Viña Concha Y toro
Region: Maipo Valley
Country: Chile
Grapes: 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Carmenere, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Vintage: 2020
ABV: 13.50%
Vivino: 4.5
Drink By: 2036
Occasional Wine Note: Here is a collaboration between 2 great wine houses from France and Chile, respectively. It brings the soul of the Chilean vineyard landscape with the artful winemaking of Bordeaux. The result is complex and elegant, and importanly, delicious. Ripe black fruit surrounded by tapenade, pepper and baking spices, a bit of smoke, fine tannins and balanced acidity. Beautiful!
Wine Advocate
Critic Score: 96
2020 was exceptionally dry, with 75% less rain than usual in the period between May and September, which resulted in an earlier harvest to produce a 2020 Almaviva with 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Carmenere (from Peumo), 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, so with no Merlot this time. The process was as careful as possible, without using any pumps, doing manual and optical sorting of the grapes, pressing in small vertical presses and aging of 20 months in French oak barrels, 73% of them new and the rest second use. The wine reached good ripeness with 14.9% alcohol. It still shows the effect of the élevage a bit, with abundant notes of sweet spices, a creamy touch and some smoke. I tasted it next to the 2019, and the wines have a very similar aromatic palette with a clear note of baked peppers. What was amazing in 2020 was that they harvested the Carmenere almost five weeks earlier than they normally would, and the result is not a green wine at all.
Wine Spectator
Critic Score: 95
Beguiling on the nose, this red offers layers of cardamom, chrysanthemum, balsam and loganberry. Offers a palate that's equally engaging and elegant yet powerful, with a silky smooth frame and concentrated blackberry and cassis flavors. Packs lively acidity that brings freshness and cohesion and extends the finish, where details of peppercorn and olive emerge around fine tannins, all while echoing back to the core flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.