Let's talk little, let's talk wine
Located in the Aconcagua Valley, northwest of Santiago, the Errazuriz vineyard benefits from a Mediterranean climate tempered by the cool influence of the Pacific Ocean and Andean breezes. The Don Maximiano plots are planted on hillsides with alluvial and colluvial soils, mixing gravel, sand, and clay, offering natural drainage and good water retention. This mosaic of terroirs, combined with marked temperature variations, allows for slow and regular ripening of the grapes, promoting the expression of concentration, balance, and aromatic complexity in this wine.
The grapes are hand-harvested, carefully sorted, then destemmed before cold pre-fermentation maceration. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks with pump-overs and punch-downs to extract color and tannins, followed by post-fermentation maceration depending on the tasting of the lots. The wine is then racked into French oak barrels, mostly new, for extended aging with malolactic fermentation in barrel, then aged on fine lees before final blending and bottling.
This wine reveals notes of blackcurrant, black cherry, and ripe plum, complemented by floral touches of violet, spicy nuances of pepper and clove, as well as woody accents of cedar, vanilla, and dark chocolate. On the palate, the texture is ample and velvety, supported by a fresh acidity, fine but structured tannins, and a long, persistent, and slightly mineral finish, which highlights the wine's elegance and depth.
Where are we traveling?
Aconcagua Valley
It is located approximately 100 kilometers north of Santiago, in a spectacular valley named after Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas at 6,961 meters, whose eternal snows feed the river that carved this terroir. The vineyard stretches from the warm, arid heights of the interior valley, protected by the Andean foothills, to the coastal hills of Aconcagua Costa, open to the fresh Pacific breezes, forming a wine corridor with exceptional climatic amplitude. The viticultural history truly began in 1870, when Don Maximiano Errázuriz founded his eponymous estate in the Panquehue sector, convinced that this warm and sunny valley could produce great red wines — a visionary gamble that would give birth to one of Chile's most emblematic estates. For over a century, Aconcagua remained synonymous with powerful and concentrated reds, until the discovery of the potential of Aconcagua Costa in the early 2000s overturned all certainties: these granitic hills, swept by sea winds and bathed in Pacific fogs, proved capable of producing whites and Pinot Noir of a finesse no one imagined possible in Chile. The climate ranges from hot and dry Mediterranean in the inner valley, where scorching summers are tempered by cool winds descending from the Andes, to distinctly cool and maritime on the coast, where temperatures rarely exceed 25 degrees in summer. The soils are equally contrasted, from the stony and clay-limestone alluvium of the interior to the decomposed granitic rocks and quartz of the coastline. Aconcagua Valley has forged a fascinating dual identity, producing on one hand monumental Cabernet Sauvignon and remarkably deep Bordeaux blends in the heat of Panquehue, and on the other vibrant Sauvignon Blanc, chiseled Chardonnay, and elegant Pinot Noir on the windy slopes of Aconcagua Costa, embodying better than any other region Chile's ability to excel at both ends of the spectrum.
The little history of the country
Chile
It was Hernán Cortés who ordered the cultivation of vines upon the conquest of Mexico in 1524. It gradually spread from Mexico southward, reaching Chile in 1555. During the first three centuries of colonization, only país, a characterless and very productive black grape variety, was cultivated in Chile. It was not until the mid-19th century that noble varieties were introduced: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, mainly. Twenty years later, winemaking was modernized under the impetus of wealthy landowners and French experts who had been forced out of work by phylloxera in Europe. Chile stretches 4,300 kilometers from north to south. It is sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Andes Mountains to the east, the Atacama Desert to the north, and the Patagonian plains and glaciers to the south. These natural barriers prevented phylloxera from entering the country. Although the country is only 160 kilometers wide, it enjoys ideal conditions for growing grape varieties from warm, intermediate, and cool regions, so much so that it is often described as a vineyard paradise. With nearly 300 estates producing bottled wines, Chile ranks between 6th and 8th in the world.