Viña Polkura

The winery

Polkura grew out of a university friendship. Since the late 1990s, winemaker Sven Bruchfeld and Gonzalo Muñoz had dreamed of a Chilean wine true to its origin, and a harvest in the south of France, with a Mediterranean Syrah in the mix, convinced them that this grape should be the heart of the project. In 2002 they found an abandoned hill in Marchigüe, in the dry-farmed interior of the Colchagua Valley and less than 30 kilometers from the Pacific; with the arrival of viticulturist Cristián González the trio that still runs it was complete, and the first vintage came out in 2004. The name means yellow stone in Mapudungun, after the yellow granite that surfaces in the hill's soils. The winery presents itself as the first in Chile certified as a B Corp and belongs to MOVI, the association of independent winemakers.

The vineyard covers some 30 hectares, half of them Syrah. The original 12 hectares on the hill, whose oldest section was planted ungrafted in 2003, are completed by Malbec, Garnacha, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo and Viognier; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc followed in 2005, and in 2009 and 2016 came five hectares of dry-farmed, unirrigated head-trained bush vines. The soils are ancient and poor, decomposed granite with clay, and the sea breeze that crosses the Coastal Range in the afternoons tempers the heat. Most blocks face south or west, and the coolest sectors give rise to Block g+i. The range also includes Lote d, Polkura Syrah, Secano, Maniac, the Malbec, the GSM+T blend, the Aylin Sauvignon Blanc from Leyda grapes, and Koaj, a kosher wine. With its solar panels the winery produces more energy than it uses, and it sets aside a fifth of the estate for conservation, where Alstroemeria diluta, an endangered flower, grows.

Visits are booked online through the winery's Tourpay platform, at least 24 hours ahead. There are 90-minute tastings from CLP 40,000 per person: a comparison of Syrah from different blocks, a tasting among the vines, a selection of the top-tier wines and a vertical of older vintages. Also on offer are a 3-kilometer trek up the hill that ends with a glass of Syrah, a picnic on the lookout terrace Monday to Friday, and a free tour about the estate's biodiversity. In spring and summer some tours add a truck ride through the vineyards. Service is in Spanish and English, and several tours in Portuguese too; if you plan to come on a weekend, confirm beforehand by WhatsApp. The winery has no restaurant or accommodation and recommends places in the area.