Viña Los Vascos Chilean Born, French Inspired by DBR Lafite
Viña Los Vascos does more than grow vines and make remarkable wines. The team dreams of transforming their vast territory in Chile’s Colchagua Valley into a balanced ecosystem where man and nature coexist in harmony.
The estate’s history dates to the 18th century, when a Basque family was the first to plant vines in this lush region of central Chile. After careful review of the existing vineyards, soils, and climates, Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite acquired Viña Los Vascos in 1988, making them among the first European families to purchase a vineyard in this region. Since then, a comprehensive modernization and investment program has been undertaken, orientated towards the production of fine wines from Chile by combining local traditions with the expertise of DBR Lafite.
While Viña Los Vascos follows sustainable farming practices, the goal has never been to simply create a productive vineyard. The estate constantly cultivates a unique ecosystem that shows what the local nature and biodiversity can achieve when given the right tools. This ecosystem includes a nursery with vine plants and rare species, an olive grove, orchards and gardens that provide produce for cooking for guests, woods and forests planted with native flora and fauna, a flock of sheep that maintains the pastures and produces natural fertilizers, and much more.
Viña Los Vascos’ holistic approach continues in the winery. The building is powered by renewable energy from solar panels and a photovoltaic plant, and the team reuses, recycles, or recovers as much plant waste, water, and packaging as possible. Moreover, Viña Los Vascos aims to create a stable and quality work environment — 95% of the estate’s employees are permanent and it encourages young people to stay in the region through the La Ruta del Carménère initiative. For these, and many other efforts, Viña Los Vascos has been certified by the Code of Sustainability of Wines of Chile.
Proud of its ecosystem and its people, the community of Viña Los Vascos is happy to share wines that reflect the attributes of their special terroir and unique heritage.
Terroir
Los Vascos is a state-of-the-art winery in Valley de Caneten — a true viticultural paradise — in the renowned Colchagua Valley. Often called the “Napa Valley of Chile,” Colchagua is one of the country’s oldest and most traditional wine regions. The Valley de Caneten provides a perfect microclimate for high-quality viticulture, with northern exposure to lands uncontaminated by airborne or water-borne pollutants. Onshore winds from the Pacific Ocean, which lies approximately 40 kilometers / 25 miles from the vineyards, keep vines healthy and preserve freshness. They also contribute to daily temperature shifts, up to 30°C / 86°F, which extend the growing season and allow for optimum maturation of the grapes.
The heart of the estate, in the valley floor, consists of sand and clay alluvions left by the erosion of neighboring granitic hills, as well as Tosca, a hard soil made from volcanic ashes that have been transported by rivers into the plains and compacted over time. Higher on the surrounding foothills lie the terroirs of El Mirador and Santa Lucia, where the granites are particularly suitable for complex and long-lived Colchagua wines.
Viticulture
Viña Los Vascos cultivates 640 hectares / 1,582 acres of vines, planted with cabernet sauvignon (68%), carménère (9%), syrah (8%), chardonnay (5%), cabernet franc (2%), and sauvignon blanc (2%). Due to the large plantings carried out in the early 1990s, the vineyard is divided between a group of plots with an average age of 15 years and another group of 40 to 50 years old, with the oldest vines being 60 years old.
Over the last 30 years, the estate has made significant improvements to the vineyards. Major farming changes include large-scale drip irrigation (resulting in a much better expression of the fruits), canopy management (that removes the green notes in the wine), hillside planting, and planting of new varieties. Currently, 81 hectares / 200 acres of Viña Los Vascos’ vineyards are certified organic, while 202 hectares / 499 acres follow the principles of organic farming.
Chilean Tradition Meets DBR Lafite’s Expertise
Viña Los Vascos wines combine Chilean traditions with the expertise of DBR Lafite. For red wines, a short pre-fermentation maceration — 20 to 25 days of vatting at 25°C / 77°F — is followed by aging in vats or barrels, depending on the vintage. For whites, the vinification is carried out with a tight settling, fermentation at 15°C / 59°F for at least 20 days, then aging on lees with stirring. Viña Los Vascos is certified by the Code of Sustainability of Wines of Chile, respecting highly compelling social, environmental, and qualitative norms both in the vineyard and in the winery.
