2016 Almaviva S.A. Almaviva
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Almaviva is drinking beautifully and will appeal to readers seeking a more understated, earth-centered wine with notably less oak influence than many vintages leading up to it. The El Niño conditions of the harvest are apparent on the nose, with a damp, foresty quality and present but pleasing herbal notes that eventually take center stage with aeration. The palate is soft and elegant, concluding with powdery tannins and soft but persistent acidity. A lovely mix of sumptuous and understated, this is squarely in its secondary phase and is best enjoyed within the next five years.
Critic scores
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
A Cabernet Sauvignon with 24% Carménère, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot from Puente Alto, Maipo that spent 18 months in French barrels. In a cold year, Michel Friu brings out fresh black currants and sour cherries with hints of sweet spices and notes of cigar box and mint. Complex, with a loose structure, it is juicy on the palate, with more flavor than kick, enhanced by the refreshing herbal flourish at the end of an already lengthy finish.
66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Carmenère, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. An earlier-than-usual harvest, between 29 March and 6 May. Ruby with some evolution at the rim. Well rounded and rich with excellent balance. Riper and broader than a Bordeaux and with no suggestion of green. Good balance, refreshing, and ready to broach already. (JR)
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% Carmenere, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot has less alcohol at 13.9% compared to 15% in 2014. The elevage 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. Sep 2018, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
Almaviva is a collaboration between two giants in the world of wine – Bordeaux’s Ch. Mouton Rothschild and Concha y Toro.