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Chile · People, vineyards & the wine they make
Almaviva — A Franco-Chilean Partnership
Two wine families met around a Chilean vineyard. Follow Almaviva from Puente Alto’s Cabernet Sauvignon into a blend shaped by a Bordeaux connection and a place of its own.
A partnership, and the people who began it.
In 1997, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild of Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A. and Eduardo Guilisasti Tagle of Viña Concha y Toro formalised the partnership behind Almaviva. Its history brings a French wine family and a Chilean wine family into the same project, rather than describing a French estate transplanted without change.
Almaviva describes its organising idea through the French château concept: a defined place, a dedicated cellar and a team working toward an estate wine. The useful discovery is how that structure serves Puente Alto. “French-inspired” tells part of the history; it is not a substitute for Chilean origin.
Puente Alto, on the Andean side of Maipo.
The producer locates its vineyard on the northern bank of the Maipo River, at the foot of the Andes. Its terroir account highlights alluvial layers with gravel and rocks, and cool mountain air contributing to the difference between daytime and night-time temperatures.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the principal grape in its vineyard account, alongside Carménère, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. This is a list of estate varieties, not a promise that all five appear in every vintage. Follow Maipo Valley → for the broader regional setting.
Read one vintage, then read the next.
For Almaviva 2022, the producer lists 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Carménère, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The same account records 20 months in French oak, with 70% new barrels. Those are dated facts about a particular wine, not a permanent estate recipe.
| Follow this clue | What it tells us |
|---|---|
| 2022 grape blend | 72% Cabernet Sauvignon · 23% Carménère · 4% Cabernet Franc · 1% Petit Verdot. |
| 2023 grape blend | 74% Cabernet Sauvignon · 19% Carménère · 5% Cabernet Franc · 2% Petit Verdot. |
| Maturation is a separate measure | The 2023 account gives 20 months in French oak, 73% new. Grape percentages and new-oak percentages describe different decisions. |
Neither example contains Merlot, although the vineyard account includes that grape. A useful reminder: vines grown, grapes selected and the final assemblage are different stages of the story.
From careful sorting to the Grand Chai.
Almaviva’s cellar account describes shallow harvest bins and two stages of hand sorting, first bunches and then berries. Parcel-sized stainless steel tanks allow separate vinification before components are assembled. The Grand Chai and a second-year barrel room give maturation its own sequence.
Chilean architect Martín Hurtado designed the winery. Its curved roof and timber construction connect the working building with its landscape. Architecture, fruit handling, fermentation and maturation are all parts of the story; an attractive building alone does not explain a blend.
The general cellar page and an individual vintage sheet may describe different oak regimes or durations. Use the dated wine information for a specific bottle. This avoids turning an older description into a rule that every vintage must follow.
A name from Figaro; more than one wine to explore.
Almaviva takes its name from Count Almaviva in Beaumarchais’ The Marriage of Figaro, later adapted as Mozart’s opera. The producer connects the label’s imagery with Chilean ancestral design, bringing literary and local references together.
The estate’s current visitor account includes both Almaviva and EPU. They are distinct wines. A guest exploring the partnership should read the exact bottle and vintage rather than treating the whole portfolio as a single blend. Consult the estate’s visitor page for current arrangements.
A small Cork Dork discovery.
Let the maker’s account join your tasting.
Place the 2022 and 2023 Almaviva compositions side by side. Mark which grape proportions changed, then make a separate line for oak treatment. If comparing with a Bordeaux wine, keep origin and classification separate from shared grape names. Which question would you ask the blending team?
Where shall we wander next?
Behind this introduction.
Editorial sources checked 25 October 2026. Historical events and individual wines are dated where relevant. Producer descriptions explain their own practice; they are not universal rules or independent rankings.