Cacique Maravilla Pipeño País 2022

Sporting the distinctive wavy mustache that graces the label of each bottle, Moraga Gutiérrez is a seventh-generation winemaker in Yumbel, a small town located 300 miles to the south of Santiago. His vineyard, cultivated on the region's unique volcanic ash soil known as trumao, has been in his family for over 250 years. The vineyard's Pais vines were originally planted by Manuel's great-great-great-great-grandfather, Francisco Gutiérrez, who immigrated from Spain in 1766, and without the ravages of Phylloxera, maintains some vines of 200+ years of age. Gaining the esteem of the local Mapuche tribe, he earned the nickname Cacique Maravilla.

For a quarter of a century, Manuel has tended to his 30 acres using biodynamic farming methods. While he initially produced wine solely for family consumption, selling most of his grapes, the turning point came in 2010. That's when he began bottling wines for sale under the brand Cacique Maravilla. The wine in question is a charming Pipeño, an archaic term for the straightforward, local wine traditionally made by farmers. Characteristically, it's crafted as naturally as one could hope for—fermented with wild yeasts, zero additives, and minimal sulfur.

This wine, once the rough-and-ready beverage of choice for gauchos and farmers, now graces the tables of trendy sommeliers. And rightly so. It showcases a rustic, herbal profile accented by smoky undertones and dark fruit flavors. While its appearance might deceive you as lightweight, it surprisingly offers more body and structure than most wines of its kind. Presented in generous 1L bottles, it’s a drink that is as delightfully quaffable as it is affordable.