Red

Cherry Balsamic Short Ribs & Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Vintage 2019 in Chile was magnificent, a worthy successor of the superb 2018, in line with the greatest Chilean vintages of the last twenty years. The vintage was notably dry with only 150mm of rainfall measured in Puente Alto between May and September 2018, compared to historical figures of 262mm. During the same winter growing season, temperatures dropped lower than usual, pushing budbreak to occur a couple of weeks later than expected. Temperatures increased in November at higher levels than usual before returning to normal in December. Spring was also very dry with 11mm of rainfall, followed by an extremely warm summer. The acute conditions of heat and drought obliged us to start irrigation early, monitoring it closely, managing the hydric stress with precision. Veraison started a bit later than average but was fast and homogeneous. The initial late budding was misleading as it hinted at a late harvest. However, the first vines harvested arrived at maturity a week earlier than usual. Picking started on March 21st for the Merlot and March 27th for the youngest Cabernet Sauvignon. Cooler temperatures in April slowed down the ripening of the old Cabernet Sauvignon vines and other varieties, which ultimately resulted in a long harvest period of 10 weeks, until the last of the Carménère was brought in on May 27th. The drier than average vintage 2019 gave us smaller berries, superb for all our Bordeaux varieties, packed with rich colour and intense flavour, wonderfully balanced, generous in fruit and tremendous in quality.

18 Months, New French Oak

In 1997 Baroness Philippine de Rothschild Chairman of the Advisory Board of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA and Eduardo Guilisasti Tagle Chairman of Viña Concha y Toro S.A. sealed a partnership agreement with a view to create an exceptional Franco-Chilean wine called Almaviva. Produced under the joint technical supervision of both partners the first vintage achieved immediate international success upon its launch in 1998. The name Almaviva though it has an Hispanic sonority belongs to classical French literature: Count Almaviva 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. The Château concept was introduced in the XIX century in France as a way to honor creative mastery of winegrowers from Bordeaux. 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.