I found the 2018 Almaviva to be the most complex, nuanced and multifaceted version of Almaviva to date. It presents a perfectly balanced nose of black and red fruits, pipe tobacco, fresh mint, gravel dust and an enticing, harmonious hint of red peppers that gives the wine its distinctiveness. The palate displays understated ripeness with fantastic density and concentration while maintaining a sense of vibrancy. It finishes with a long, layered finish that highlights the paradoxes of a great wine: drying yet refreshing, lifted yet deep, straightforward yet slightly mysterious. This wine has it all and should continue to impress into its third decade.

Confident complexity on display here, fresh, powerful spicy notes of tobacco and grilled coffee beans alongside cool blueberry fruits. Winemaker Michel Friou has made a brilliant wine in this vintage that expands outwards through the palate. 100% new oak. Blend completed with 3% Petit Verdot.

72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Carmenère, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Hailed as a magnificent vintage for Chile. Veraison was late but homogenous, with perfect harvesting conditions allowing for harvest to take place slowly, over 9 weeks! Deep ruby colour. Intriguing nose – dried herbs, a little ripe fruit, quite savoury and gamey. The palate is full of glycerol, with soft tannins just propping up the fruit. The acidity provides equal structure, taming the smudgy ripe fruit. Earthy and spicy on the finish – a little disjointed at the moment. (TP)