Viña Los Vascos

The winery

Los Vascos occupies a vast estate in Peralillo, in the west of the Colchagua Valley, about 40 kilometers from the Pacific and at the foot of Cerro Cañetén, one of the highest peaks of the Cordillera de la Costa in the area. According to the winery itself, a family of Basque origin planted the first vines here in the 18th century, and the name comes from them. In 1988 it was bought by Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), the French house of Château Lafite Rothschild, one of the first European families to acquire a vineyard in the region: it studied the soils, restructured the vineyards and restored the winery. Today the property totals some 3,550 hectares, 667 of them under vine; the rest is shared among woods of cork oak, eucalyptus and quillay (soapbark), espino thorn scrub, meadows, olive groves and reservoirs where herons and black-necked swans nest. The winery holds the Wines of Chile sustainability seal and has been a certified B Corp since December 2023.

Cabernet Sauvignon takes up two thirds of the vineyard, joined by Carménère, Syrah, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. On the valley floor the soils are alluvial sand and clay over tosca, a hard layer of compacted volcanic ash; on the El Mirador and Santa Lucía slopes granite dominates. The difference between day and night temperatures, which can reach 30 °C, lengthens ripening. The range starts with the Los Vascos line, unoaked varietal wines from the historic heart of the estate, and continues with Cromas Gran Reserva, from vines planted on the granite slopes and aged twelve months in barrel; Chagual, the organic line, with Cabernet Sauvignon from certified blocks in Peralillo and Sauvignon Blanc from the San Antonio Valley; and Primo, with a Semillón from Apalta, a Pinot Noir from Leyda and a Cinsault from Itata. At the top of the range are Le Dix, created to celebrate the family's ten years in Chile, with Cabernet Sauvignon from the historic El Fraile vineyard and a little Syrah, aged 18 months in barrels, and Cañeten, the newest wine, which comes from plots at La Aguina, the coolest vineyard and the most exposed to the mists of the Cañetén valley, and is aged mostly in 4,000-liter foudres. Sheep graze the estate to keep the cover crop in check, prunings and pomace are composted, a worm bed treats the winery's wastewater and solar panels power the irrigation.

For now Los Vascos does not offer visits to its estate: its page on the DBR Lafite website states that there are no tours and that special requests go through the contact form; the winery can also be reached at +56 72 235 0900. From time to time it opens the property to the community, as on the springtime Espinal Florido day (the thorn scrub in bloom), free and with prior registration, which it announces on its Instagram. It has no online store of its own: the data sheets for each wine and vintage are in the DBR Lafite wine directory, and on social media the winery shows the grape harvest, the olive harvest and life on the estate.