Almaviva 2004

[Jay Powers]

A freind of mine at work gave me a bottle of 2004 Almaviva from Chile the other day. This is the same freind who turned me onto the 2001 Neal Cabernet, so I was eager to try the wine, a mixture of Cabernet-Sauvignon and Carmenere.

Decanted at 3 PM, Served at dinner at 7 PM (steak, mashed potatos, and roasted vegtables), this was a fantastic wine! The Carmenere adds a flavor to the wine that I cannot readily describe. This was a big wine, 14.5% alcohol, and very, very young, even with four hours decanting. But despite that, the wine was very "on", plenty of fruit but not overwhelming, with sharply defined tastes as well as some finesse which may be an indication of what's to come in a few years (or decades more likely).

For dry wines, I will drink them with dinner but after the food is gone I'll switch to dessert wine or beer. With this I kept going after the meal until there was none left, then found myself bereft.

If you like the Port and Bordeaux both, this may be the dry wine for you. For drinking now (with suitable decanting time) or to lay down for up to 15-20 years, maybe even longer. Drink with lamb, red meat, stew, or even by it's self.

Jay