2019 Almaviva

68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Carmenère, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot. Youthful blackcurrant fruit with graphite and granite complexity – a petrichor note that seems very terroir-y. Baked black fruit with cocoa, and a definite mineral quality – from granitic on the nose to something more slaty on the palate. Long, fruit-driven finish with polenta-like tannins, balanced acid and milk-chocolate flavour on the finish. (RH)

The product of an overall warm, dry vintage that ended slightly cooler, the 2019 Almaviva opens with focused, red-fruited aromas supplemented by coffee, mint and red pepper, developing additional floral notes with aeration. It is suave and energetic on the palate, displaying an admirable balance between slightly elevated ripeness, fresh acidity and detailed, delineated tannins. It finishes with the velvety richness and elegantly drying structure typical of Almaviva. Within this vertical, it struck me as similar to the 2022—although a touch more lifted and less assertive—and further reinforced the stylistic improvements made at Almaviva in the last decade.

68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Carmenère, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot. Deep ruby colour. Sweet, jammy fruit, sultanas and leather on the nose. There is a jarring medicinal note to both the nose and palate. Structurally the palate is very glossy but the fruit is muddled. Dried fruit mixes with clove and tar to the finish. (TP)