Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile - The Maipo Valley

Last time we explored Chile’s Colchagua Valley that is located in the southern part of the Central Valley.

Now, let’s explore one of Chile's most important wine-producing regions, the Maipo Valley that is located just south of the capital, Santiago where Cabernet Sauvignon is its most celebrated wine.

The Maipo Valley was first planted around Santiago in the 1540s, but it wasn't until the 1800s that viticulture really began to expand significantly.

Maipo Valley Climate

Maipo is in the very northern part of Chile's Central Valley. On the west, the Coastal range of mountains separates the Maipo Valley from the Pacific coast, and on the eastern side, the Andes Mountains separate Maipo from the Argentinean region of Mendoza.

Daytime temperatures can be high but the higher altitudes (up to 2500 feet) ensure cooler night-time temperatures. These difference between daytime and night-time temperatures slows down the ripening process, resulting in higher quality grapes and higher quality wines.

The soil also creates challenging growing conditions for the vines, which have to struggle to get to a water source. As a result, the grapes provide concentrated and intense flavors.

Maipo Valley Terroir

The Maipo Valley is divided into the sub-regions of Alto Maipo, Central Maipo, and Pacific Maipo.

  • Alto Maipo sub-region is in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. The sub-region has a mountainous climate and extremely porous and rocky soil. These conditions place stress on the vines, which results in the production of elegant Cabernet Sauvignon.

  • Central Maipo is located along the Maipo River and is one of the oldest winemaking regions of Chile. In Central Maipo, Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant varietal but more recently, winemakers in the region have also begun producing Carmenere wines.

  • Pacific Maipo is the youngest of the sub-regions in the Maipo Valley. This sub-region has only a few vineyards along the banks of the Maipo River. The grapes grown here benefit from the influence of the Pacific Ocean and the local alluvial soils.

Maipo Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The Cabernet Sauvignon of the Maipo Valley are of high quality and offer tremendous values. They tend to be medium-full to full-bodied with herbal notes and moderate tannin. If you are looking for a Cabernet Sauvignon with red fruit flavors and more delicate notes than the ‘big’ Cabs from Napa, give the wines of the Maipo Valley a try.

Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile's Colchagua Valley

Colchagua Valley

The Colchagua Valley is located in Chile’s Central Valley and stretches from the coastal hills that run the entire length of Chile's Pacific coastline and to the foothills of the Andes in the east.

Each of these wines is a “Gran Reserva” which, in Chile, means that it is their highest quality wine containing a minimum of 12.5% alcohol and have oak treatment.

The Cabernet Sauvignon of the Colchagua Valley are some of the best wines of Chile’s Central Valley and are available at great values with many in the $20 price range.

Here are three fine examples of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Colchagua Valley:

  • 2018 Los Vascos Cromas Gran Reserva ($22)

    Los Vascos is located in a closed valley, approximately 25 miles from the sea. The name, Cromas, was inspired by the colors of nature.

    This wine is produced from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah and 5% Carménère. After careful sorting and de-steming, grapes are placed in stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Regular pump-over ensure a gentle extraction of the tannins. After malolactic fermentation, 50% of the wine is transferred into French oak barrels for a period of 12 months.

    This wine is medium ruby in color with delicate aromas of red cherry and herbal notes. On the palate it is medium bodied with moderate acidity, light tannin and a balanced finish.

  • 2018 Maquis Gran Reserva ($20)

    Viña Maquis is located in the heart of the Colchagua Valley between the Tinguiririca River and the Chimbarongo Creek. Both waterways act as pathways for cool coastal breezes that moderate the warm summer temperatures.

    This wine is produced from 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Carmnere and 1% Petit Verdot. The grapes are 100% hand-picked and sorted. Fermentation occurred in stainless steel tanks for 21 days, Malolactic fermentation also occurred in stainless steel tanks. It was then aged for 12 months in French oak.

    This Viña Maquis is medium ruby in color with aromas of red cherry and plums. On the palate, this medium-bodied wine has red fruit flavors, medium-low acidity, light tannin and a light, easy finish.

  • 2018 Terra Noble Gran Reserva ($20)

This Terra Noble Cabernet Sauvignon from Colchagua comes from two different terroirs in the valley: 70% of the grapes are from the Los Lingues DO in the Colchagua Andes while the remaining 30% hails from the “Between the Ranges” (Entre Cordilleras) Marchigüe DO. The Los Lingues vineyard is planted in deep colluvial soils with high percentages of clay and stone, while the Marchigüe vineyard is alluvial, sandy and clay-rich. The former is warmer than the latter, where the Pacific breeze lowers the temperature.

This Terra Noble wine is produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks for a cold maceration of 4 - 6 days. Alcoholic fermentation took place between 25º -26º C with soft extractions by manual punch-downs that were carried out for 8 to 12 days. Then, the wine underwent a post-fermentative maceration of about 2 weeks, depending on the lot. Once the vatting process was finished, 70% of the wine was racked directly into new and used French oak barrels while the remaining 30% was placed in un-toasted foudre (large wooden vats) where it completed the malolactic fermentation. Aging was for 12 months.

This Terra Noble Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color with aromas of red fruits with herbal hints. On the palate it is smooth with medium-low acidity, moderate tannin and a light finish.

Each of these Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Chile’s Colchagua Valley are affordable and attainable and fit right in as Behind the Cork™ Wines of the Week.

Next time we’ll explore three Cabs from Chile’s Maipo Valley. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by the featured wineries of Chile (via Creative Palate)

Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile - The Colchagua Valley

The Colchagua Valley

The Colchagua Valley is located in Chile approximately 80 miles south of Santiago. It stretches south-east to north-west for 70 miles at its widest point with its western boundary formed by the coastal hills that run the entire length of Chile's Pacific coastline and to the foothills of the Andes in the east.

Colchagua Valley Climate

The Colchagua Valley has an ideal wine-growing climate. It has warm days and cool nights due to the ocean breezes. It’s a relative dry region that gets its water supply from Andes run-off and the occasional rain. The region maintains a consistently Mediterranean climate where Cabernet Sauvignon plantings mostly occur in the warmer eastern region.

Colchagua Valley Terroir

Like so many other wine regions, the slopes on the edges of the coastal mountains are the most desirable locations for grape growing in the Colchagua Valley. These vineyards have well-drained granitic soils, cooler temperatures than those in the valley floor and benefit from the diurnal temperature variation.

Colchagua Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The Cabernet Sauvignon of the Colchagua Valley are some of the best wines of Chile’s Central Valley and are available at great values with many in the $20 price range. An upcoming Behind the Cork™ will feature three Cabernet’s from this region and providing more details on their characteristics.

The soils and higher temperatures of the Colchagua Valley results in a different profile for Cabernet Sauvignon than that found in Maipo Valley. And, we’ll explore that region next time. Cheers!

The Wines of Chile - Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted red variety in Chile and it is the grape credited with putting Chile on the world stage. It accounts for around 100,000 acres planted which is just over 20% of all vineyard plantings in Chile. These vineyards extend from Atacama in the country’s far north to the Araucania region midway down the coast – a distance of roughly 1000 miles.

But, the productive core of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon is the Central Valley where three regions account for 97% of total planted surface area: O’Higgins (43,103 acres), Maule (38,338 acres) and the Metropolitan Region (14,807 acres). These regions span the area west of the Andes and on to the Pacific Coast, meaning that they include all the different terroirs of Chile.

So, within the O’Higgins region, for example, the Colchagua Valley covers two-thirds of the Cabernet Sauvignon planted, while the Maipo Valley boasts a historic core of vineyards in the Metropolitan Region.

Comparing and contrasting these two iconic Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon regions is where we’ll go next. Until then, Cheers!