EPU Puente Alto Red by Almaviva 2019

Description

#91 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2022 94 Points, James Suckling; 93 Points, Wine Spectator; 93 Points, Wine AdvocateJames Suckling: “Aromas of blueberries, blackberries and fresh flowers. Very cool and pure. Medium-bodied with fine, linear and very integrated tannins that are compressed and silky-textured. New second wine of Almaviva. Needs time to open.”Wine Spectator: “This red offers ripe plum and cherry cordial flavors up front, revealing layers of nuance as it unfolds, including intriguing orange zest, Calabrian chili and olive notes. Presents a fresh, minerally acidity midpalate that pushes all the flavors to the finish, with zesty but firm tannins and echoes back to the opening flavors. Shows tremendous length.” Robert Parker, Jr’s Wine Advocate: “The first truly international release of the second wine is going to be the 2019 Epu, which has changed image and label, looking a little more like Almaviva, and is going to be sold through the Bordeaux négoce. 2019 was a very dry vintage, and the blend is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Carmenere, 2% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc with slightly higher alcohol than 2018 and with lower acidity, matured in used barriques for one year. In terms of freshness, the wine is quite similar to the 2018 that I tasted next to it, obviously a little younger, quite intense and fruit-driven, spicy and herbal, with a creamy texture and fine-grained tannins. It’s a second wine, but they also want to do something different and Epu is perhaps a little more classical, perhaps this is more Bordeaux and Almaviva is more Chilean.”Winery: “Almaviva is the name of both winery and wine born of the joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Viña Concha y Toro. It is also that of Pierre de Beaumarchais’ character, the “Count of Almaviva” in his Marriage of Figaro, a work Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart later turned into one of the most popular operas ever. The classical epithet, laid out in Pierre de Beaumarchais’ fair hand, shares the label with insignia of pre-hispanic roots symbolizing a union of European and American cultures that at every level has created successive bonds over centuries that have evolved a unique identity. The recent synthesis of French tradition and American soil has delivered an exceptional wine embodying the best of both worlds, a Primer Orden that really shines.”