The regions · Chile

Maipo Valley: the Cabernet born at the foot of the Andes

The Maipo Valley is the wine region that surrounds Santiago, Chile's capital. It's the home of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon: in 2022, more than half of its wine vineyards were this grape. If you like a red with body, this is a good place to start.

Where it is and what the place is like

Under Chilean law, the Maipo Valley covers every province of the Santiago Metropolitan Region. In other words: the capital sits inside the valley. The vineyards run from the foot of the Andes, to the east, to near the Coastal Range, to the west.

The climate is Mediterranean: hot, dry summers and cold, rainy winters. And it rains little, about 315 millimeters a year, according to Wines of Chile, the producers' association. The ground also changes along the way: more sand and gravel to the east, more clay to the west.

The region's grapes

Here the conversation starts and almost ends with Cabernet Sauvignon. In the official survey by the SAG, the Chilean government's agricultural service, it covered 52% of the Metropolitan Region's wine vineyards in 2022. In Pirque and Puente Alto, right up against the mountains, it reached almost two thirds.

Next come Merlot, Syrah and Carmenère, each with somewhere between 6% and 9% of the vineyard. White exists, led by Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, but it's a minority: roughly one in every eight vines.

What wine comes from there

The Maipo is, above all, red wine country. Wines of Chile describes the local Cabernet as complex, with well-structured tannin. Tannin is that grip on your gums, like the one from strong black tea: it's the wine's backbone.

Many bottles from here are a blend, a mix of grapes: Cabernet with a bit of Merlot, Carmenère or Cabernet Franc. Several labels spend time in a barrel, the oak cask, which makes the wine more oaky and round. Like oak? Great. Prefer the fruit to come through more freely? Look for the younger ones, with no time in wood.

What the label says

The denomination of origin, the DO, is Valle del Maipo, a subregion of the Valle Central Region. This official map was born with Decree 464 of 1994, and the SAG is the one that enforces it. Pirque and Puente Alto already appeared as areas in the first version of the law.

Three rules help at the shelf. If the label says Maipo, at least 75% of the grapes came from there. If it says Cabernet Sauvignon, at least 75% of the wine is that grape. And Gran Reserva, in Chile, requires at least 1 degree of alcohol above the legal minimum and time in wood.

A detail that confuses people: Alto Maipo is a nickname for a sector, and the law has no area by that name. On the label, the official name is the area's, like Pirque, Puente Alto or Buin. These three, and Santiago too, can also carry the word “Andes”, reserved for wines with at least 85% of grapes from areas influenced by the mountain range.

Alto Maipo, the middle and the seaward side

Wines of Chile splits the valley into three pieces. Alto Maipo climbs the foothills of the Andes, between 400 and 800 meters in altitude. There the sun is slow to clear the mountains in the morning and, at night, a cold breeze comes down the slope. Hot days and cool nights: from this seesaw come some of the country's most respected Cabernets, according to the association.

Central Maipo follows the river, south of Santiago, on soil of rounded river stones, and it's one of Chile's oldest producing zones. Near the Coastal Range there are a few vineyards, more recent ones, that catch a bit of the sea's freshness.

What it pairs with

Maipo Cabernet calls for food with fat and salt, which softens the tannin. Picanha on the grill, slow-cooked beef ribs, cupim (beef hump), pot roast with cassava. A semi-cured cheese, like Canastra, also makes a good pair.

And with feijoada? It works, especially with a younger, less oaky Maipo. Pairing is a suggestion, not a rule: try it and trust your own palate.

The grapes in the labels from here

Across the house's 116 Maipo Valley labels, the grapes that show up most. The number is how many labels use each one.

To start with: Maipo Valley wines by price range

The price range the house saw at big stores in Brazil, in the month shown. The price changes; the range tends to stay.

• Santa Rita 120 Reserva Especial CarmenèreChile · red · Carmenèreup to R$ 60checked Sep 2026
• Santa Rita (3) Tres Medallas MerlotChile · red · Merlotup to R$ 60checked Sep 2026
• AlmavivaChile · red · Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenèreover R$ 300checked Sep 2026
• Don Melchor Cabernet SauvignonChile · red · Cabernet Sauvignonover R$ 300checked Sep 2026

Throwing a party? How many bottles to buy →

Top rated from the Maipo Valley

Average rating from the people who drank it (X-Wines), from 1 to 5. Tap to see the wine's page.

• AlmavivaChile · red · Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenèrerating ★ 4.7
• Don Melchor Cabernet SauvignonChile · red · Cabernet Sauvignonrating ★ 4.7
• Viñedo Chadwick RedChile · red · Cabernet Sauvignonrating ★ 4.7
• El Principal AndetelmoChile · red · Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdotrating ★ 4.6
• Cousiño-Macul LotaChile · red · Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlotrating ★ 4.6
• Almaviva EPUChile · red · Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Francrating ★ 4.6
• Santa Rita Casa Real Reserva Especial Cabernet SauvignonChile · red · Cabernet Sauvignonrating ★ 4.5
• Caballo Loco Grand Cru MaipoChile · red · Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignonrating ★ 4.5

See the Maipo Valley labels in the search →