Viña Las Veletas

The winery

Viña Las Veletas is in Alquihue, in the municipality of San Javier, in the dry-farmed country at the far southwestern end of the Maule Valley, within the D.O. Loncomilla. It is an old property where, for many years, País, Carignan and blends of other red grapes grew. Its owner, Raúl Dell'Oro, set about recovering those vines and planting new blocks, then joined forces with winemaker Rafael Tirado to make wine of their own: a project of family and friends, in small lots, whose launch the winery announced in 2016. The company dates its founding to 1993, and today the brand is part of Weather Vane Wine Estate, alongside El Salto, Curu and La Victoria.

The company reports some 340 hectares of vineyards, with hillside terraces whose curves can be picked out from the air as they wrap around the hills. The soils are granitic and clay loam, low in organic matter, and the climate is dry Mediterranean, with Pacific wind that cools the afternoons. There is Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, País, Petit Verdot, Carménère, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan. The wines ferment in stainless steel and in barrel and are kept in an underground cellar. The Gran Reserva line brings together Carménère, Cabernet Sauvignon, País, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc; Grandes Ensamblajes, blends such as Grenache-Mourvèdre-Carignan or Petit Verdot-Cabernet Franc; and Cuartel, selections from a single block: N°5 Cabernet Franc, N°60 Carménère and N°73 Carignan.

The winery publishes no visits or opening hours for the public. EFE's Tren Sabores del Maule, the state railway's “Flavors of Maule” train, has brought groups to the winery on some outings, but that is a train package with a changing destination. The most direct way to get to know these wines is to buy them: they are stocked by shops such as El Mundo del Vino, La Vinoteca and Jumbo, and the winery handles sales at +56 9 5219 5492 and contacto@lasveletas.cl.