History
Viña La Ronciere is the only producer in this sub-region of the Curicó Valley.
Viña La Ronciere was founded in 1949 by the Orueta family. Now run by the third generation - brothers José Antonio, Andres and Alejandro - whose dedication to making high quality wines remains a constant.
La Ronciere’s roots lie in Colchagua and Cachapoal, in the Valle Central, where the family still have vineyards, along with their main winery.
Increasingly alarmed by the acceleration of climate change, the Orueta brothers have sought out cooler climate locations to produce their terroir-driven wines.
They pioneered grape growing in the Licantén region, focussing on elegant, age-worthy reds.
In 2016, they began a project in Chile’s southernmost D.O. – the Malleco Valley, where the focus is on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
It is a challenging location to grow grapes, close to the limit in terms of suitable climatic conditions.
The region is cold, has quite high annual rainfall, with a relatively short growing season.
The rewards, however, are distinctive wines with wonderful regional identity and a racy freshness.
VINEYARD
The Selva Oscura vineyard, planted on volcanic soils and surrounded by ancient forests, was identified as a site of great potential. The cool climate with fresh days and cool nights with average temperature 9.9ºC giving a good fluctuation that slows down the ripening and grapes build complex flavours whilst retaining their freshness. The area sees quite a bit of rain and as a result, the vines become stressed in their quest for water and nutrients, giving low yields of grapes with great flavour concentration.
Grapes are hand-harvested from the third week of March up to the middle of April. La Ronciera philosophy is to produce vibrant and fresh expressions of a unique terroir, whilst exploring the viticultural possibilities amidst a changing climate.
