Viña Tres Palacios

The winery

Viña Tres Palacios was born in 1996, when Patricio Palacios and María Inés Covarrubias settled in the Cholqui valley, ringed by the hills of the Coastal Range in the municipality of Melipilla. It is about 90 km from Santiago, around an hour and a quarter by car, in the area known as Maipo Costa. In 2020 Óscar Ormeño and Pablo Sanhueza joined as partners and the business became an agricultural company, though it keeps its family character. Winemaker Camilo Rahmer, now also general manager, has made the wines since the first vintage.

The property covers 250 hectares, of which more than 60 are vineyards of white and red varieties, and it brings together a winery with capacity for a million liters, a barrel hall and a colonial manor house. All the grapes come from this estate, which straddles the Cholqui stream: the soils are of granitic origin, washed down from the mountains, and alluvial beside the watercourse, with rounded stones. The Gran Reserva line includes Carménère, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and a Cabernet Franc rosé. Family Vintage comes from selected blocks more than 20 years old and spends 12 months in French barrels; its Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 scored 93 points in the Descorchados Informe Chile 2026. Merlot Merlot, created for the winery's twentieth anniversary, comes from a single block on deep alluvial soils, with some 5,000 bottles according to its technical sheet. Cholqui is the house's icon red blend, from selected parcels; the 2020 vintage spent 15 months in new French oak.

Visits are booked with Marcela Pino, by phone (+56 9 7905 8138) or email (m.pino@vinatrespalacios.cl). The Experiencia Family Vintage lasts three hours, Monday to Friday and for four people or more: it covers the vineyard and the winery and ends in the manor house with five wines and a board of cheeses and charcuterie. The Cholqui Food Experience lasts four hours, Monday to Saturday and for six people or more: it starts at the lookout, continues through the winery and the barrel hall, moves on to a tasting of six wines and closes with a Chilean barbecue and an open bar of Gran Reserva. Both are in Spanish and transportation is up to the visitor; the winery's website recommends two transfer companies. The producer's listing on Enoturismo Chile publishes different terms, with tastings from two people and a country barbecue at another price, so confirm them when booking. No restaurant open to the public or accommodation is published. The official website has no online store; Enoturismo Chile mentions a cellar door at the winery, and the wines can be found in specialist shops such as El Mundo del Vino.