Viña Almaviva EPU Puente Alto DO 2019
(Maipo Valley, Chile) [TA 93] [JS 94] [WA 93+] [WS 93, #91 Top 100]

About this Wine:
EPU, the name of Almaviva’s second wine, means “two” in the language of the Mapuche, one of the main indigenous cultures of southern Chile. EPU comes from the same exceptional vines and terroir of Almaviva, Puente Alto. Modelled on the second wines of the most prestigious Bordeaux châteaux, and produced in very limited quantities, EPU shares many characteristics of Almaviva, nonetheless, expressed through its own personality.

Tasting Notes:
Deep, intense ruby red.  The nose is attractive, vibrant and fruit-forward, with aromas of wild raspberry and cassis, combined with subtle notes of spices and tea leaves.  In the mouth, the attack is round pleasant, nicely balanced between tension and ripeness, density and finesse, the wine presents smooth and polished tannins.  The predominant Cabernet Sauvignon reveals the pure expression of the Puente Alto terroir, with an intense, fresh, and distinctive fruit of cassis and berries.

An elegant, harmonious and youthful wine, with persistent notes of vanilla and red berries throughout its long, savoury finish.

Varietal Composition:
84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Carmenere, 2% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc

Barrel Ageing:
12 month in French Oak

94 Points - James Suckling:
"Aromas of blueberries, blackberries and fresh flowers. Very cool and pure. Medium-bodied with fine, linear and very integrated tannins that are compressed and silky-textured. New second wine of Almaviva. Needs time to open. Try after 2024. (7/30/2021)

94 Points - Tim Atkin, MW:

"(15%). Resplendent in a new package and showing more Cabernet Sauvignon than ever, the second wine of Almaviva is a stylish assemblage with 16% Carmenère, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Made from the bodega's younger parcels, it's silky, perfumed and refined, destined for the medium rather than the long term, but with the weight, sap and focus of the 2019 vintage. 2023-27. (2022)"


93+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The first truly international release of the second wine is going to be the 2019 Epu, which has changed image and label, looking a little more like Almaviva, and is going to be sold through the Bordeaux négoce. 2019 was a very dry vintage, and the blend is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Carmenere, 2% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc with slightly higher alcohol than 2018 and with lower acidity, matured in used barriques for one year. In terms of freshness, the wine is quite similar to the 2018 that I tasted next to it, obviously a little younger, quite intense and fruit-driven, spicy and herbal, with a creamy texture and fine-grained tannins. It's a second wine, but they also want to do something different and Epu is perhaps a little more classical, perhaps this is more Bordeaux and Almaviva is more Chilean. 70,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2020 and January 2021." - Luis Gutierrez (8/31/2021)

93 Points, #91 Top 100 Wines of 2022 - Wine Spectator: