People that I know, including myself find it wild that they call this strip of land a country. In my opinion though, this strip of land makes some pretty awesome wine and have been doing it for a long time. Today, we will talking about the Maipo Valley, which is one of Chile's most important wine regions and it is located in the most northern part of Chile's Central Valley Region.
Maipo Valley, surrounds Santiago(first plantings were in 1540), the capital of Chile, and is the historical heart of the country and the center of Chile's winemaking culture. Not surprisingly, this area has some very old vines. The urban sprawl of the capital has pushed much of th wine growing out of this area, but it is still an important source for well-balanced reds. Maipo's specialty is Cabernet Sauvignon, with lesser plantings of Merlot, Chardonnay, Carmenère(a little fun fact, Chile, knowing this is one of their most planted grapes and a grape that got revived in Chile from it's almost near extinction in France, is only spelled with one accent on the 'E', whereas Carménère anywhere else is spelled with two accents.) Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah.
The Maipo Valley is one region inside of a big region, Central Valley, like we have discussed. Though, let's get a little bit more confusing and separate it into three more subregions in itself. They are, Alto Maipo, Central Maipo, & Maipo Bajo.
Alto Maipo
The majority of the vineyards in the Alto Maipo, which is located in the northern part of Maipo, run along the eastern edge of the Andes Mountains, where they benefit from altitudes of 1300-2500ft above sea level! At this height, warm sun during the day is followed by colder nights, which slow ripening. This extends the growing season, leading to grapes with a balance of ripeness and acidity. One of the biggest producers in Chile, and a super high end producer known as Don Melchor is located within here.
Central Maipo
The climate here is slightly warmer than in Alto Maipo, and the soils are slightly more clay-based and fertile, leading to a slightly less-refined style of wine. Cabernet Sauvignon grows here, but Carmenère also thrives here.
Maipo Bajo
Also known as lower Maipo, they are more focused on winemaking, then they are viticulture, so not a lot of vineyards are planted here. They make wines that are sourced all throughout the country!
I hope you seek out Chile in the near future if you haven't already. Have a look at a video I did on a Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo Valley.
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