Rothschild & Concha Y Toro, Almaviva, Maipo Valley 2015

A glorious and complex nose of tobacco, blackberries and hints of stones and flowers. Hints of bitter chocolate. Full-bodied, very tight and compacted. Linear backbone gives this form and tension. It has the same character on the palate as well as cayenne and other spice. Loved the 2014 but this shows more fine-grained tannins. So balanced and harmonious. A blend of 69% cabernet sauvignon, 24% carmenere, 5% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Needs four or five years in bottle but a joy to taste now.

The 2015 Almaviva reflects the normal harvest conditions, which, if anything, was longer than normal, but optimal in every other way. Smoothly elegant and floral, it offers medium-bodied layers of peppery herb, vanilla bean, and black cherry, with polished, silky tannins and well-integrated oak. Aged 18 months in new French oak, the blend is 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Carménère, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Ready to drink, it can go another 10-12 years.

2015 was a dry and warm year, and the 2015 Almaviva shows ripe and voluptuous, with a full body and sweet fruit on the finish. The varietal breakdown is 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Carménère, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot; the high percentage of the Carménère, a constant in warmer years, comes from Puente Alto and also Peumo, the classical zone for the grape in Cachapoal. The élevage was in 82% new barriques and lasted 18 months. It's creamy and sleek, with polished tannins. It was a ripe and dry year, with higher yields than 2014, which is more concentrated; in 2015 the yields were a little higher with slightly larger grapes and bunches, and for winemaker Michel Friou, this results in better balance, with a ratio of skin to juice that is more balanced than in years when the grapes are smaller and might produce very tannic wines. However, the wines show very consistent in the last few years, always harmonious and combining power with elegance while showing the nuances from the year, which tend not to be huge. This has a little less alcohol than the 2014, and the day I tasted it, it showed more Cabernet Sauvignon personality. This is more approachable than the 2014. 180,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2017.