Chile·Established·Warm

Aconcagua Valley DO

A warm interior Chilean valley north of Santiago renowned for powerful, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère, and home to icon wine Seña.

Established
Recognized as a DO under Chile's Decree 464 of December 1994
Classification
DO (Denominación de Origen)
Climate
Warm
Soil
Alluvial and colluvial soils on the valley floor —…
Principal grapes
4
Cross-references
3

About Aconcagua Valley

The Aconcagua Valley stretches inland along the Aconcagua River some 65 km north of Santiago, in the east of Chile's Valparaíso Region — a warm, sun-drenched, dry interior where the country's most powerful red wines are made. Cabernet Sauvignon leads by a wide margin, joined by Syrah, Carmenère and Merlot, all benefiting from intense sunshine tempered by cold air spilling off the Andes that yields broad day-to-night temperature swings and firm natural structure. The valley is the cradle of Chilean icon wine: Viña Errázuriz built its reputation here, and the Seña estate established it on the global fine-wine map with structured, age-worthy reds. Recognized as a Denominación de Origen under Chile's foundational Decree 464 of December 1994, the broader Aconcagua DO also reaches to cooler coastal zones, but its interior heartland remains defined by bold, concentrated Cabernet and Carmenère built for the cellar.

Terroir & regulation

Geography
Warm interior valley of the Aconcagua River, about 65 km north of Santiago in the Valparaíso Region, running from the Andean foothills toward the Pacific
Climate
Warm, dry Mediterranean in the valley interior, with strong sunshine, large diurnal swings from cool mountain air, and cooler maritime influence toward the coast
Soil
Alluvial and colluvial soils on the valley floor — gravel, sand, clay and loam — with rockier, stonier ground on the slopes and foothills
Principal grapes
Cabernet SauvignonSyrahCarmenèreMerlot
Established
Recognized as a DO under Chile's Decree 464 of December 1994

Principal producers

  • Seña
  • Viña Errázuriz
  • Viñedos Chadwick
  • Von Siebenthal

Editorial notes

Practical guidance

The warm interior heartland of Chilean icon reds; Seña and Viñedo Chadwick put it on the world fine-wine map.

Cross-references

Related producers

Related grapes

Related styles

Related cities

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