Viña Arboleda was founded in 1999 by Eduardo Chadwick. The philosophy behind this project was to craft single-vineyard wines that reveal the purest expression of each unique terroir within the vineyards of the Aconcagua Valley.

The grapes for the Arboleda wines come from its two estate-owned vineyards, Chilhué and Las Vertientes, both nestled in the Aconcagua Valley.

Chilhue

In the local native language, Chilhué means ‘Place of Seagulls’ and alludes to the estate’s closeness to the sea as it is located just 12km from the cold Pacific Ocean. Due to the proximity to the sea, the vines grow under a powerful maritime influence, which endows the resulting wines with cool-climate qualities. The 860ha property extends over 4km from west to east. A vast extension of native forests, ravines and endemic wildlife surround 113ha of vineyards and provide the grapes for Arboleda’s Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Las Vertientes

Named ‘Las Vertientes’ after the freshwater springs found on the estate, the vineyard is located 37km inland from the sea, in the Hijuelas locality. The cool coastal winds blow in from the sea refreshing the Mediterranean climate, allowing the red grapes to ripen slowly. The vineyard is surrounded by hills, with the vines sitting over the piedmont and part of the alluvial plain and comprises 32ha of Cabernet Sauvignon, 17ha of Carmenère, 10ha of Cabernet Franc and 35ha of Syrah.

Aconcagua is a broad Chilean wine region spanning coast to Andes north of Santiago, officially encompassing the inland Aconcagua Valley alongside the cool-climate coastal valleys of Casablanca and San Antonio (including Leyda). This west-east sweep creates a striking climate gradient: the Pacific’s cold Humboldt Current chills the coast with fog and sea breezes, while inland sites are warm and dry, moderated by Andean airflow and nocturnal drops. The result is crisp, saline-edged whites near the ocean and structured, sun-ripened reds upriver.

Soils mirror that diversity. Inland, river terraces and fans mix stony alluvium with granite and colluvial rock—excellent for Bordeaux varieties and Syrah. Closer to the coast, poor granitic subsoils capped by clay or sandy clays dominate San Antonio/Leyda, while Casablanca shows pockets of friable granite, light sand and heavier moisture-holding clays. These free-draining, low-fertility profiles help retain tension and aromatic lift in coastal fruit.

Grape choices track the climate. The inland Aconcagua Valley excels with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Carménère—ripe blackcurrant, plum, cocoa and warm spice framed by firm but polished tannins; “Aconcagua Costa” sites also yield peppery, fresh-lined Syrah. By contrast, Casablanca and San Antonio specialise in Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir: zesty citrus, gooseberry and coastal herb for Sauvignon; citrus, green apple and subtle mineral lines for Chardonnay; and red-cherry, cranberry, floral Pinot with lively acidity and fine tannin. Alcohols tend to be lower at the coast and fuller inland, but balance is a regional hallmark.

Carmenère (often styled Carmenère) originated in Bordeaux, where it was once a staple of the Médoc and Graves before phylloxera and tricky ripening saw it largely disappear. Its modern renaissance began in Chile, where vines long assumed to be Merlot were identified in the 1990s as Carmenère. Today Chile is the global reference—especially sites such as Peumo in Cachapoal and parts of Colchagua and Maule—with smaller plantings in northern Italy, Argentina, the United States, China and Brazil.

Viticulturally, Carmenère is late-ripening and needs a long, warm, dry autumn to achieve full flavour maturity. It can suffer coulure and millerandage during a cool, windy flowering, and in humid zones it is vulnerable to mildew. Careful canopy management is essential: moderate yields and good sunlight exposure help reduce green pyrazine notes and build riper fruit characters, while well-drained, warm soils are preferred. Picked too early, it shows overt herbaceousness; harvested ripe, it delivers plush fruit with supple tannins.

Styles range from juicy, early-drinking reds to more structured, ageworthy examples. Typical flavours include dark plum, black cherry and blackberry layered with cocoa, coffee and sweet spice (often a paprika/pepper lift), plus a gentle herbal thread. Acidity is usually medium, tannins rounded and velvety, and sensitive oak use adds chocolate, tobacco and cedar without overwhelming the fruit. At its best, Carmenère combines generous, sable-textured richness with savoury complexity and a distinctive, Bordeaux-meets-Andean personality.