Cachapoal Valley
Viña La Rosa has 864.1 hectares (2,135.2 acres) of vineyards planted in the Cachapoal Valley. The vineyards themselves are divided into three different estates:
• La Rosa - Peumo
• Cornellana
• La Palmería de Cocalán
The Cachapoal valley is located in the warm, central part of Chile, a two and a half hour drive from Santiago, Chile's capital city.
Cachapoal, which lies in the northern part of the Rapel Valley, is one of Chile's historic wine growing regions and within it, Viña La Rosa enjoys a unique position on the banks of the Cachapoal river. The climate is ideal for growing good quality wine grapes. The Cachapoal Valley is protected by the Chilean coastal range, which reduces the influence of cool and humid winds coming from the Pacific Ocean.
And due to their particular location within the Cachapoal valley, our Cornellana and La Palmería de Cocalán estates benefit from this mountain range "shield". On the other hand, by being located in a plain near the Cachapoal river, our La Rosa - Peumo estate benefits from more exposure to the Pacific Ocean influence, which provides a very good climate for white grapes.
• Soil:
The soils found in the Cachapoal area are alluvial-colluvial soils. They have a loam to silty clayey texture of medium depth, with moderate organic matter content and good drainage. This results in well balanced vines, good fruit ratio, low yielding, intensely flavoured grapes, etc.
• Climate:
The Cachapoal Valley has a warm climate, often compared to that of California's Napa Valley. It is situated between the 33° and 34° latitude, and is only 19 miles (30 kms) inland from the coast of the cold Pacific Ocean. The warm sunny days of summer are cooled at night by cold breezes coming from the west and the mild-hot summers are followed by cool autumns and also relatively mild winters.
Cachapoal is reputed to have one of the longest and most even ripening seasons which allows for just the right amount of ripeness while retaining good acid levels for fruit freshness. This provides excellent varietal character with rounded tannins, great flavour and excellent acidity balance.
La Rosa
449.6 hectares (1,111 acres) planted with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc Carmenère, and Malbec. Named after the small town located near Viña La Rosa, and situated along the Carretera de la Fruta or otherwise translated as the "Fruit Road", the Peumo vineyard is the Ossa family's original estate. It is also the site of the family's hacienda, its chapel and some of the houses for the workers.
With the Cachapoal River running alongside it, the Peumo vineyard is the largest vineyard and contains Viña La Rosa's oldest vines, first planted in 1824. The rest of the vines are at least 25 years old. The climate is Mediterranean, hardly arid, and the soil is alluvial with a mixture of sand and gravel. Spring and summer (from September to March) are dry and temperate, with great variations of temperature between day and night.
Cornellana Estate
135 hectares (334 acres) planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz and Carmenère. As isolated as La Palmería, this valley property was purchased in 1991. The land had been planted with grapes during the previous century, but the former vineyard was plagued by a severe water shortage. The Ossa family, however, thought that this could become an interesting business opportunity and bought it.
New vineyards were laid out, roads were built and water rights were transferred to this long, hidden valley. Cornellana's terrain is rocky, and its lowest point is 350 mts. (1,000 feet) above sea level. It is, however, blessed with a unique microclimate and favourable conditions for growing grapes – for example, Chardonnay grapes planted here are harvested two weeks earlier than in surrounding areas.
Under vine both red and white grapes are planted on a serpentine hillside track, where small orchards of Agen plum trees also flourish.
La Palmería Estate
145 hectares (355 acres) planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz.
La Palmería de Cocalán is the jewel in Viña La Rosa's crown. Tucked away in the Cachapoal valley, the vineyards are studded with native Chilean palm trees (Jubaea Chilensis), whose small coconuts are used for making a special syrup called miel de palma or otherwise translated as "palm honey". The palm trees themselves grow in dry places with little annual rainfall.
La Palmería de Cocalán has its own special story which for Viña La Rosa began in 1914, when at the young age of nine, Recaredo Ossa Undurraga (great great grandson of Viña La Rosa's founder, don Francisco Ossa y Mercado) wandered into this valley during a horseback expedition. He carved his name on one of the palm trees in the hope of one day returning to this natural park of palm trees, a place in the middle of nowhere, so unspoilt and unique.
As years went by, he kept dreaming with owning this land. Only at the age of 75 did his dream become real. But thanks to him, today thousands of Chilean palm trees, many over a hundred years old, thrive alongside vineyards, citrus orchards and wild llamas on the estate.
Jubaea Chilensis is an endemic species of Chile. Its trunk is grey and thick and the palm tree measures between 0.80mts. and 1.20mts. in diameter. It can grow up to 30mts. in height. In this estate, the vineyards mostly grow on sloping hillsides and are relatively new, having been planted in the 1990s.
Today, the yield is particularly low in this location, just half of that generally found elsewhere both in the Cachapoal valley and, in the other surrounding Rapel river valleys.