2016 Almaviva

97 POINTS

James Suckling

A very fine and elegant Almaviva with fresh fruit and herb character. Medium-to-full body, tight and focused with very fine, linear tannins and a chocolate and light cedar undertone to the whole thing. Savory, too. Smoked meat and succulent. It's tight but opens with air. Classicism here. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 24% carmenere, 8% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Drink in 2021.

95 POINTS

Wine Spectator

Elegant, powerful and well-structured, with a refined mix of dark fruit, dried red fruit and spice flavors. Dried herbal notes emerge midpalate, with a minerally finish that is long and rich-tasting. Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

95 POINTS

Vinous

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.

94 POINTS

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

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% Carmenère, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot has less alcohol at 13.9% compared to 15% in 2014. The élevage 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.

94 POINTS

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2016 Almaviva was showing really well, quite subtle and austere, less showy than the 2017 and 2018 vintages. It has less alcohol than either of the following two vintages, and it's perhaps a slightly different vintage of Almaviva, a little lighter and with a more elegant and subtle profile. This is a vintage of more finesse, closer to a classic Bordeaux, with a dry, austere finish—there is no room for any sweetness here. This is a little bit better than I thought.

94 POINTS

Matthew Luczy - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

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.

94 POINTS

James Suckling

This is a delicious and slightly austere wine with medium body and berry, herb and currant character. Smoked meat, dried spice and walnut, too. Firm. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 24% carmenere, 8% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Evolving a little more quickly than expected.

92 POINTS

Clare Tooley MW - Decanter

The most evolved colour wise of this line up – mahogany already. Spearmint and earthiness on the nose and a powerful concentration of flavours on the palate. The fruit is perhaps overripe, though while raisined it retains a freshness and a certain elegance.