Almaviva – Red Blend – 2022
Puente Alto – Chile 🇨🇱
Overview
A “pure evil” expression of ultra-fine winemaking produced by the collaboration between Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Viña Concha y Toro. The 2022 Almaviva blends precision and power from Chile’s premier terroir in Puente Alto.
Varietal Composition: 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Carmenère, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. 
Aromas & Flavors
Cassis, blackberry liqueur, violets, graphite, cedar spice, and a touch of mocha, all densely packed but beautifully lifted.
Mouthfeel
Velvety, deep, and resolute. Superb tannin refinement with a long, elegant finish that balances richness with precision.
Food Pairings
Dry-aged ribeye, lamb chops, charred mushrooms, or a luxurious truffle risotto.
Verdict
Expressive, beautiful, and undeniably classy. A solid, velvety powerhouse that is enjoyable now or will age with grace.
🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
The finest expression I’ve tasted from Chile’s greatest terroir, Puente Alto, with roared potential and impeccable balance. — 9 months ago
2016 in 10/23. From winery visit on our way to Sta Barbara in the cali yrs. Forget which one. Bought on faith. Didn't disappoint. Oak, acidity, fruit all played well w ea other. Love when new world chard holds up well. 14.5% — 3 years ago
Equilibrado, balsámico, refrescante. Lo pruebas y quieres más — 3 years ago
Nose of lemon, lime, honeycomb, and sea breeze. Very dry and high acid on the palate. Lots of citrus, minerals, and a touch of honeycomb on the finish. Mayb ea touch of yellow apple as well. Crisp, clean, and tasty. — 6 years ago
Very good wine just not for me, I normally drink a lot of Napa valley wine and French wine. I’m not saying it’s a bad wine I’m just saying I guess I have a profile I enjoy more. I held the wine for 10 years, chilled and decanted for 1 hr, 1.5 hr, and then 2 hrs. I never experienced the normal oak, cigar, leather. You know all the taste profiles the pros mention. I enjoyed it but was still disappointed. I have one more bottle 2015 that I will drink in 2030. Maybe I’ll love it. I drank a younger bottle and really enjoyed it. It was almost overwhelming and hard to finish of course I was in las Vegas at a hotel enjoying the view from my hotel of the Bellagio fountains which made this spectacular both the wine and the view. Which was years ago but a special wine and a memory goes a long way. Especially when you get up in age. — 16 days ago
Set good at the price. Good tannins — 3 months ago
Nose: lovely florals.
Palate: good toast. Good fruit.
1/3 ea pn pm chard
$43 Monteray bay — a year ago
Pretty wine with “lifted acidity” (aka VA /EA / hint of nail polish). The wine relaxed and became more expressive with roses (fresh and dried) fruit (cherry, raspberry, red currant, pomegranate) as the meal and conversation wore on. Tannins are fine-grained and well integrated, but very much present, making the wine a little aloof and muted at first. Give it time to unwind and reach a happy place. — 5 years ago
This was a tremendously surprising wine in the richness of flavor. My boyfriend and I loved the depth of taste. — 6 years ago
You want? I have a couple cases of half bottles in pristine condition. Stored at a private cellar In pebble beach since release. $25 ea! Absolutely fantastic. Light ruby color. Notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and spice with red cherry, sandalwood and tobacco. Ready to drink or cellar for many more years. Decant for sediment though ***Don’t forget to sign up for my emails at Alex@nolimitfinewines.com for up to date offers on rare and limited wines at the best prices USA... ask anyone, I don’t disappoint!** — 6 years ago
#costcowines - decent, polished, mass appeal style, good QPR — a month ago
Last bottles from a 6-pack. I had two bottles that were sadly riddled with EA, but the other four were sound.
This was one of the wines I served for my annual WWC hosting. All wines served blind.
65 semillon/ 34 Sauvignon Blanc/ 1 Muscadelle
Always love these, more so than most domestic Bordeaux Blanc style white wines, mostly because of the texture. Straw color in the glass. Quite the tropical aromatics (white peach, mango) but it’s not overpowering. The barrel ferment is apparent with the rounded profile on the palate…the vein of acidity that was there a few years ago is fading, so this showed even more opulent than normal. Honeyed lemon, guava, orange blossom but a backbone of sea salt and herbs snap the structure in place to show nice balance and a nod to Bordeaux. I’d recommend popping now and over the next couple years to enjoy the freshness. — 3 months ago
One of the wines I supplied for an annual lunch hosting (co-host this time). I was really hesitant to open this given the fanfare of this specific wine, but also how DrCrane can be an in-between wine for me (so explosive young, shut down at 5-10yrs, re-open 10+). Decanted two-three hours.
Classic deep purple-black DrCrane in the glass. Aromatics are immediate with ripe blue and black fruits, baking spices, mocha and graphite. Just a little bit of high-toned EA to make it pop, along with this roasted character I always get from DrCrane wines. Opulent and polished in every way on the palate, this is a tidal wave of flavor with no hard edges. It’s a towering wine in the sense of so much concentration and depth on the mid-palate, but it’s so incredibly polished at the finish…almost shockingly so. The ripe fruits and the dark chocolate linger longer than any Napa cab I can remember. Iron first in a velvet glove.
No need to worry, these are open for business. Plenty of structure to carry a while, but this window seems like it was made for how this wine is drinking now. — a year ago
2014 Napa cabs are in a sweet spot for the “fruit forward” stage of wines without ripping the enamel off your teeth. TRB is a favorite winemaker of mine for his ability to pull the entire fruit spectrum (red, blue, black), when applicable, which is evident here.
This is a pop and pour for the big fruit loving Napa enthusiasts (which I can enjoy ever so often). It is uber ripe and high toned...not quite sporting levels of EA, but close. With this being Calistoga fruit, it undoubtedly shows that warm profile. There is a kiss of red fruit initially on the nose before it is dominated by freshly squeezed blackberries, creme de cassis, dark chocolate, mocha and dark mixed berry pie. It begins on the palate somewhat lighter than expected before picking up steam and really gaining heft/density on the mid palate. Just oozes fresh and ripe dark fruits, fondue dipped fruits, plenty of baking spices like vanilla and nutmeg, and a sweet finish that sails on for a good while. Completely smooth and soft tannin. Not failing off a cliff for a while, but this style has me thinking earlier consumption is best. — 5 years ago
Small producer from Provence. Organic. 25% ea. Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan. Punches way above its weight class. Balanced, fresh red fruit with earth /mineral notes, smooth finish. 12% ABV. Case buy. — 8 years ago
"Odedi"
Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim.
Earthy nose of black fruits with light oak, earth, light vegetables, tobacco leaf, black tea, peppercorn, bell pepper, mediterranean spices and dark chocolates.
Full-bodied and smooth with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, licorice, earth, herbs, spices, tobacco leaf, dark coffee, light cola, dark chocolates, peppercorn and black tea.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and cherries.
This 5 year old Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend from Chile is starting to drink beautifully now. Very complex and nicely balanced.
Needed 2 hours in the decanter to open up properly. Right out of the bottle, the nose was fruity and the palate was earthy. That flipped once it opened up. So interesting.
Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years, and has good potential to become a 94+ point wine.
I've had a few vintages of this Chilean superstar, and so far my favorite was the 2015 vintage.
Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food.
A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Carmenere, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 20 months in new French oak barrels.
15% alcohol by volume.
92 points.
$125. — 8 days ago