Rukumilla

The winery

Rukumilla began in 2000, when Andrés Costa and Angélica Grove planted three quarters of a hectare on the land behind their house, in El Manzano, in the Lonquén area, about 45 km southwest of Santiago. It is still a family project: the grapes are picked by hand, in 12 kg crates, with help from relatives and friends, and the wine is bottled in their own cellar. The name comes from Mapudungun and means “breasts of gold”; as the winery tells it, that was the name of a daughter of the chief Millantú and a foreign woman, a mix the winery links to its blend of four varieties. Rukumilla was also one of the first wineries to join the Movimiento de Viñateros Independientes (MOVI, the Independent Winemakers Movement).

The vineyard, of organic grapes on clay soils of alluvial origin, gives a single wine: Rukumilla Golden Breast, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec and Cabernet Franc, with a production of about 1,500 bottles according to its website (MOVI speaks of a cap of 1,800). It is made with native yeasts, without corrections or filtering and with very few sulfites, spends four years in barrels and goes on resting in bottle until it is released some ten years after the harvest. The winery's store sells the 2016 to 2011 vintages, from CLP 49,500 to CLP 112,500, and its technical sheet for the 2016 cites 95 points from Tim Atkin in his 2026 Chile report. Older vintages, back to the 2004, are available on request for vertical tastings.

The visit, which MOVI presents as “the Maipo anti-tour,” is hosted by the owners themselves in a homelike setting: a walk through the vineyard, a look at the winery and the cellar, and a tasting of a Rukumilla with ten years of age, with a homemade appetizer. It lasts about an hour and a half, is private, in Spanish or English, for groups of 2 to 8 people, and is booked 48 hours ahead by WhatsApp (+56 9 8199 2842) or email (angelica@rukumilla.com). The winery's store offers it at CLP 42,000 per person, with a minimum of two tickets. No restaurant or accommodation is listed.