Appellation · Chile
Malleco Valley
Chile’s southernmost wine region, tiny and cold, planted almost as an experiment and now taken seriously.
Chardonnay that is taut, citrussy and high in acidity; light, savoury Pinot Noir. Genuinely cool-climate.
About Malleco Valley
Malleco is the far southern frontier of Chilean viticulture, roughly 650 km south of Santiago, and is cold and wet by Chilean standards.
It was planted in the 1990s largely on the initiative of one producer, and remains very small.
Its Chardonnay is Chile’s most obviously cool-climate — high in acidity, taut and citrussy — and has done much to change perceptions of what the country can make.
What the name means
- Legal name
- Valle del Malleco DO
- Type
- Geographical indication
- Set by
- Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG), Chile
- Recognised
- 1995
- Regulates
- Origin only. It sets no rules about varieties, yields, ageing or winemaking.
A nationally registered indication of origin outside the systems enumerated above. What it controls varies by jurisdiction and is recorded on the individual record.
Grapes
Wines from here
What to eat, and how to serve it
Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.
Chilean Chardonnay
Serve at 10–12°C (lightly chilled).
Try with grilled chicken, fillet steak or grilled salmon.
Chilean Pinot Noir
Serve at 14–16°C (cellar cool).
Try with fillet steak, turkey or bloomy-rind cheese.
Where to go next
Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.
- Bío-Bío Valley — A cool, wet southern valley with a long history of País and a new one of Pinot Noir and Riesling.
- Itata Valley — Chile’s oldest wine region, home to old-vine País and Cinsault on granite soils.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Wines of Chile — Wines of Chile