Almaviva 2019

When Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and Eduardo Guilisasti Tagle formalized their joint venture in 1997, their founding premise was radical for Chile: one estate, one bodega, one technical team, one wine — the French Château model transplanted to the foot of the Andes. The 2019 vintage is the fullest expression of that ambition to date.

The single estate in Puente Alto sits at 620–650 m, where Andean alluvial fan deposits — loamy clay to 50 cm, then sandy loam, gravel, and rock — deliver both exceptional drainage and a naturally low-pH mineral backbone. Diurnal swings from the Cordillera preserve acidity even at 15% ABV, the warmth of 2019's dry growing season fully expressed without sacrificing tension.

Vinification is pump-free: hand-harvested fruit moves by gravity through cold maceration, then alcoholic fermentation in parcel-specific stainless steel tanks, then spontaneous malolactic directly into barrel. Aging runs 20 months in 70–73% new French oak, with basket-press wine integrated in small proportions. The 2019 blend leans into Carmenère at ~23% — the highest inclusion in recent memory — alongside approximately 68–74% Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.

That elevated Carmenère share is the 2019's defining transgression: no Bordeaux or Napa peer can legally or historically replicate it, and it drives the vintage's signature balsamic depth and camphor lift. Only ~50% of total vineyard production was selected for this wine. Drink 2025–2042.