Tasting Notes
Vinous 97
The 2024 Almaviva (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Carmenere, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot) from Puente Alto was aged for 18 months in French oak, 76% new. It opens with a dark-fruited profile of blackberry and blueberry, layered with plum, balsamic notes, chutney-like spice, licorice and fine oak. The warm vintage reinforces this darker, riper aromatic register, in line with the estate’s mature style. On the palate, Puente Alto’s gravel soils and Andean setting play a defining role, delivering rounded, polished tannins and textural finesse. Broad and slightly indulgent, the wine shows fine, lightly plush yet still reactive tannins, as it was recently bottled, and sustains the finish with delicate fruit. Here, vintage and house style align, resulting in a poised and expressive 2024.
Anticipated maturity: 2026-2049
Robert Parker 98
The 2024 Almaviva ranks as the most impressive and definitive iteration of the wine I have tasted to date. The nose delivers a degree of nuance, refinement and complexity that other vintages have glimpsed but never fully attained, seamlessly fusing incense, pipe tobacco, sage, sweet red pepper and singed cedar aromas with impeccable harmony and a graceful overall nature. On the palate, a classically suave, gourmand mouthfeel is energized by an uncommon vibrancy, flowing into a reverberant, saturated finish that lingers with filigreed tannins and a strident core of graphite-laden minerality. The blend is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with about 25% Carmenere, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.
Jane Anson 98
An exceptional vintage of Almaviva, this is fragrant and savoury, with wonderful lift through the palate, fennel, anis, raspberry puree, a succulent and balanced vintage of this wine. Michel Friou winemaker, Manuel Louzada director, jointly owned by Rothschild, Concha y Toro. 70% new oak for ageing.
