Almaviva Proprietary Red Puente Alto 2021
Central Valley · Maipo Valley · Proprietary Blends · red
About this wine
98 POINTS! At the absolute BEST PRICE in the entire world, and this Cab-based, Bordeaux-inspired, unquestioned TITAN of the world of wine can be yours...TODAY! ALMAVIVA, here…we…come!!! Does your mouth water when someone mentions Concha y Toro? Do you dream of tasting Mouton-Rothschild? Would you leap out of your chair and weep to discover that several decades back — on the heels of a successful synergistic maelstrom where Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild joined forces to create the legendary OPUS ONE — the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild made the same sort of magical marriage in South America?! Joining the ICONIC Concha y Toro powerhouse, with the majestic vinous bloodline of the Rothschild family…I give you…ALMAVIVA!!! A single, ground-breaking château model — the first of its kind in South America — with a Grand Vin forged from a single vineyard high up in the Andes foothills, in the Puente Alto region of Chile’s famed Maipo Valley. This is Shangri-La for Bordeaux grapes — with red, sandy loam soils set above 2,000 feet in elevation…not unlike the very peak of Napa’s iconic Pritchard Hill. Cabernet Sauvignon takes center stage with over two-thirds of the final blend, then joined by the so-called 6th grape of Bordeaux — Carménère — which has found a new home in the steep foothills of Chile these past several decades. Cab Franc and Petit Verdot round everything out, and the final tally is absolutely EVERYTHING you would expect from the powerhouse coupling of two winemaking LEGENDS. I mean, just read the 98s, 97s, and more below! “A real head-turner” and “a stunning example of Almaviva” that delivers “a classy, harmonious wine” — and those are but a few of the highlights! This beauty AND a beast absolutely PURRS, and the precision, the elegance, the power, and the depth — it’s a balancing act achieved with uncommon grace, y’all. Cassis and kirsch, with brooding and dark notes of sappy plums, and baked cherries, black currants, vanilla bean paste, fennel, toasted walnuts, and iron ore…HUZZAH! Viscous and bold, this flows slowly over the palate, with impressive staying power. The finish is long, and very, very plush. Like a 16-pound bowling ball wrapped in velvet. NOT FOR THE SHY and devilishly hedonistic in a Napa Cult Cab sort of way, but with a unique and gorgeously integrated green note that gives this complexity and the promise of decades worth of aging potential. It slays…full stop. To have a shot at this…at the BEST PRICE on the planet?! Welcome to no-brainer junction, population…YOU!!! (And me, and the entire team of buyers that already scored a few bottles for our personal collections.) Get some while we got it, people! Go, go, GOOOOO!!!!
Wine details
- Vintage
- 2021
- Region
- Central Valley
- Appellation
- Maipo Valley
- Varietal
- Proprietary Blends
- Blend
- 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Carménère, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
- Color
- red
- Winemaker
- Michel Friou
- Alcohol
- 15
- Last Bottle price
- $124
- Retail price (estimate)
- $235
- Wine-Searcher average
- $184
- Critic score
- 98 — James Suckling