Maipo Valley DO
Chile’s most prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon DO. The Puente Alto sub-zone (high-altitude eastern Maipo) is the source for Don Melchor, Almaviva, and Viñedo Chadwick.
About Maipo
Maipo Valley DO is Chile’s most editorially significant wine region and the foundational zone for Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. The DO spans a wide range of sub-zones from the cool Pacific-influenced western Maipo Costa to the warm central valley floor to the high-altitude Puente Alto sub-zone in the Andean foothills. Puente Alto is the editorial center — the high-altitude (650-800m) sub-zone with calcareous alluvial soils that produces the country’s most age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon. Concha y Toro’s Don Melchor (first vintage 1987) is the foundational “icon” Chilean wine, all sourced from Puente Alto. Almaviva (the Mouton-Concha y Toro joint venture) and Viñedo Chadwick (Errazuriz) operate from adjacent Puente Alto vineyards. The minty-eucalyptus character common to Puente Alto Cabernet is genuinely distinctive — wine writers describe it as one of the most recognizable Cabernet terroir signatures in the world. Maipo also produces serious Sauvignon Blanc from its cooler coastal sub-zones.
Terroir & regulation
Principal producers
- Concha y Toro (Don Melchor)
- Viña Almaviva
- Viñedo Chadwick (Errazuriz)
- Casa Lapostolle
Editorial notes
Maipo Valley Cabernet (especially Puente Alto) ages 12-20+ years from strong vintages. The minty-eucalyptus character is editorially distinctive. Sub-zone (Maipo Costa, Maipo Alto / Puente Alto, Maipo Bajo) matters — “Maipo Valley” alone is insufficient terroir signal.