Viña Casas Patronales

The winery

Casas Patronales began in 1990, when three friends planted their first vines on family land in Maule. In 2001 they renovated and expanded an old cellar, and in January 2003 they put their wines on sale, in Chile and abroad. The name recalls the manor houses of the San Clemente estates, where the best of each harvest used to end up. Today the wines reach some thirty countries.

The winery reports 1,040 hectares planted in three zones of the valley: 448 in Cauquenes, 415 in San Clemente and 177 in Pencahue. Cauquenes, about 40 km from the coast, holds its oldest land: that is the source of Vigno, a Carignan from head-trained, dry-farmed vines more than 65 years old, with which it belongs to the VIGNO association, as well as of the Leal line and of Sabio, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Carignan. San Clemente, in the foothills of the Andes, has a sharp swing between day and night temperatures and yields Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Pencahue, with very hot days and cold nights, gives Carménère, Syrah, Malbec and Viognier. The catalog runs from the Reserva line to Ñeque, a limited-production Cabernet Sauvignon, and includes an Extra Brut sparkling wine and a late harvest.

The winery does not publish priced tours or tastings. What is open is its only physical shop, the cellar door at Fundo El Aromo, beside Ruta K-575 in San Clemente, Monday to Friday; its website gives two different schedules, so write first to WhatsApp +56 9 4621 1025. The Ruta del Vino del Valle del Maule (the Maule Valley Wine Route), of which it is a member, mentions vineyard and cellar tours with guided tastings, but with no price, schedule or way to book: you have to ask the producer. The sales office is in Las Condes, Santiago. The online store ships only to the municipalities within its delivery area, which are checked at checkout, and purchases made there cannot be picked up at the shop. No restaurant or accommodation is published.