We are transitioning today from Santiago to several hours south.
The main part of our day will be spent at Alchemy. Alchemy is a very small boutique winery that might make 300-400 cases a year. Everything they do is by hand; picking, sorting, pressing, etc. The very first vintage they released (2015), the Carmenere was rated #1 in the world (and unfortunately, they have no more of it). We arrive at the ‘winery’ and are greeted by the three men who run it. The assistant wine maker was washing dishes and getting tasting glasses ready for us. The plan today is to do some tasting and then have lunch that the head winemaker is preparing for us. The last of the three amigos is washing lettuce for our salad as we head off to the cellar for some fun. The cellar is the place in the old dairy farm where the cattle slept and is probably over 100 years old. Fabio has his ‘wine thief’ in hand and proceeds to open barrels of the different aged varietals to offer a taste and discuss the special characteristics of each wine. We are in there for quite some time.
Finally, it is time for a feast for all of us, Nicolas has prepared tri-tip, with roasted potatoes, and a fresh salad for dinner with more wine. A very nice time. We buy a bottle to take with us and they give us another one – just cause. Gracias!
We then head down to Maturana – another very small winery. They own no vineyards but have long term leases and manage the holdings themselves. One of their signatures is they wax their corks. They were in the process of doing this and I was offered the opportunity. FYI – I flunked cork waxing!
Finally, we head to Teno to our lodging at the Mapuyampay Lodge. The owners are Ruth and Vicente. They bought this property 22 years ago and over the years have constructed a home with lodging, several casitas and extensive gardens. Ruth is a renowned chef who has written multiple cookbooks and before she retired was the head entertainment chef for Concho Y Toro, one of the biggest wineries in the world.
She prepares a wonderful dinner for us and then it is off to bed.
M
We’ve finished up our time in Santiago and are heading a few hundred kilometers south to the tiny village of Teno where we’ll spend the next few evenings at the Mapuyampay Lodge. Along the route we stopped at a few wineries – one in the Cachapoal region, another in Colchagua. Both are in high altitude climes and favor the Bordeaux varieties along with Carmenere.
First up is the incredibly tiny ‘Alchemy Wines’ – founded and managed by three young friends, the ‘Tres Amigos’. What a cool spot. The ‘winery’ in an earlier life was a farm. The barrel room is in a basement area where the cattle slept. Fantastic wines that are breaking records with scoring. Their very first commercial Carmenere was rated #1 in the world! We were treated to an epic tasting of at least 10 barrels (we lost count), including Fabio’s (assistant brewer) special batch being blended for Holiday gifting. The head winemaker manned the BBQ grill and prepared a tri-tip feast for Mary, Maurice, Claudio & me, all paired with more of their wines.
Our second tasting was at Maturana Wines, another great story. They have no vineyards themselves but have contracted holdings throughout the central valley and have created a nice portfolio of ‘must have’ wines. The operations are on the family farm and our sampling was held with the entire family. Very special!
We arrived at our lodging in Teno, the Mapuyampay Lodge. Each casita is inspired by one of our hosts favorite travel destinations. Our’s is by ‘Rapa Nui’, Easter Island. We have gorgeous views of the Andes from the gardens.
D.
