In the village of Yumbel in southern Chile's Bío-Bío Valley, Manuel Moraga Gutiérrez tends vines that predate most of the New World wine map. He is the seventh-generation steward of Cacique Maravilla, a name his ancestor earned long before it ever appeared on a label.
Backstory
Manuel's forebear Francisco Gutiérrez Gutiérrez arrived in Chile from the Canary Islands in 1750 and acquired land in Yumbel. He earned such respect from the local Mapuche that they called him 'Cacique Maravilla,' roughly 'Magnificent Chief.' The family's vineyard heritage reaches back to the 1760s and is registered as one of the oldest in all of Chile.
The Region
Yumbel sits in the Bío-Bío, a cooler, traditional corner of southern Chile. The 16 hectares of vines lie within an 80-hectare farm, planted on trumao soils, volcanic sands of redeposited ash, over an ancient lava river.
Vineyards & Farming
The old vines are gloriously wild. Some Páís plants are more than 250 years old and pre-phylloxera, alongside Malbec, Moscatel de Alejandría, Corinto and Cabernet Sauvignon. Manuel dry-farms with minimal pruning and no chemical intervention, and lets horses tread the volcanic soil lightly, turning to a tractor only for bigger jobs.
Winemaking
Hand-harvested grapes ferment spontaneously in open-top vats of raulí, the native Chilean pink oak. Everything is unfined, unfiltered and made without any added sulfur. As Manuel puts it, the cellar has its own magic and offers options he could not always imagine.
The Wines
Cacique Maravilla is best known for its Pipeño, an artisanal 100% Páís bottling fermented and aged in raulí, all juicy, crunchy red fruit and tart freshness. The cellar also makes a Vino Naranja from Moscatel de Alejandría given roughly two months of skin contact, tropical and floral, among other small-batch natural wines.
