Suckling names Almaviva 2015 as his Wine of the Year

Wine critic James Suckling has unveiled his “Wine of the Year” last night at his Great Wines of the World event dinner, giving the title to Chile’s Almaviva and its 2015 vintage.

Almaviva 2015 (photo source: jamessuckling.com)

Having received 100 points from the critic, the wine was described by him as having epitomised greatness with its “intensity, structure and balance“.

Almaviva, a joint venture between Bordeaux’s first growth Château Mouton-Rothschild and Chile’s Concha y Toro, is a Bordeaux blend made from different plots in Puente Alto.

Commenting on the wine in his Top 100 Wines of 2017 report, Suckling wrote: “It underlines the movement away from overdone, jammy wines to a neoclassicism with energy and finesse. It also highlights how South America, specifically Chile, has come into its own as a wine area, producing superb wines that can compete with the best in the world.”

The wine was released earlier in September at  €78 per bottle ex-négociant, up 11.4% on the 2014 release (€70), according to Liv-ex. Suckling is the only major critic who has scored the wine and given it a 100-points.

Several other finalists running for the top honour also came from Chile, including the 2015 Viña Seña and 2014 Clos Apalta. Both scored 100 points from the critic, leading him to laud “this is a year for Chile” before unveiling the result at the dinner.

The wine was picked, as he wrote, after he and his team tasted close to 16,000 bottles this year.

His full list of top 100 wines can be viewed here.