2021 Viña Vik Winery Milla Cala
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | Chile |
| Region | Colchagua Valley |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Grape | , |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (14%) |
| Drink window | 2024 - 2036 |
- Buy 6 for 44.95 37.15 each and save 8%
In stock
33 items available
Description
The VIK Milla Cala 2021 is a Bordeaux blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Carmenere, 4% Cabernet Franc, 7% Syrah and 7% Merlot coming from the Andean vineyards in Millahue, Cachapoal Valley. The soil consists of deep, porous decomposed granite soil with good drainage. An important reason why the VIK Wines now have a cult status and are listed in the top of the world's best wineries according to Wine Enthusiast is, among other things, because of the unique (mineral) terroir, but certainly also the altitude and the cool, moist wind from the Pacific Ocean. . All this ensures coolness and a large difference between day and night temperatures and this is a very important ingredient for elegant and balanced wine with a good ratio between the fruit, acids and alcohol.
The Milla Cala reflects the pure terroir of Millahue Valley. Each variety dynamically contributes to the complexity of the Bordeaux-style blend. Cabernet Sauvignon seduces with ripe dark berry fruit and supple velvet tannins. Merlot delivers plush stone fruit while Cabernet Franc elevates the blend with elegant minerality. Carmenere gives the blend its depth, body and flavors of blackberry and plum, and Syrah ends with floral notes of lavender and violet. Twenty months of maturation in French barrels give the final accents of herbs and mocha. A wine to enjoy but great with Foie gras agnolotti in veal consommé, matured cheeses. Suckling writes in his review: ".....Better to give this time, but already a beautiful, juicy red to drink. Drink or hold." Of course this is an ideal wine with the finest meat, but actually this wine is so beautiful that this should actually be drunk solo. This wine deserves your full attention.
FACT: In the 'Attachments' tab you will find the official fact sheet of this beautiful wine. We will send this to you automatically when you order this wine. The wine is stored in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and when you pick up the wine you will often receive a nice discount . You will see your discount immediately when you choose 'Collect' on the checkout page. We are located in Dordrecht almost next to the A16 with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
About Viña Vik Winery
In 2004, Alex and Carrie Vik started an entire team with the audacious goal of creating one of the best wines in the world. After a two-year search, the best terroir was found, located in the Millahue Valley in Chile. Millahue Valley means "Place of Gold". The vineyard is planted in the interior of the valley, offering a variety of terroirs and small microclimates cooled by coastal breezes. The vineyards consist of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah.
The winery was designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radic in collaboration with Alex and Carrie Vik. It has been carefully designed to have minimal impact on the landscape. A state-of-the-art, highly sustainable, technologically creative and visually breathtaking experience. The winery was completed in 2014. Under the leadership of Chilean Patrick Valette (wine consultant, Château Pavie and with French roots) and current winemaker Cristián Vallejo, involved in the project from the start, a wonderful company has been built since 2005. The work is very sustainable, harvesting is completely manual and fermentation takes place naturally without added yeasts.
Today VIK produces four exceptional red wines and a rosé. They are rightly very proud that VIK, La Piu Belle, Milla Cala and "A" have received ratings well into the 90s, such as 99 points from James Suckling, a Master Medal from The Drink Business and platinum and gold medals of the Decanter, along with many other awards.
A water level in the wine cellar cools the barrel cellar without consuming energy. The translucent roof makes daytime work possible without artificial light. Inspired by the purity of our wines, we developed the concept of "Barroir". We roast used and new French barrels with oak from our hills and build our own barrels in our cooperage. These estate crafted barrels embody the flavor of the terroir. Because they approach all the work holistically, they only use fallen centenarian trees that can be found on the immense estate. In 2019, Wine Enthusiast Magazine unveiled their 20th annual Wine Star Awards and named VIK the Wine Star for 'Best Winery Experience'. In 2021, the competition ranked VIK as the 8th prestigious winery among the 50 World's Best Vineyards and iViña Vik has therefore quickly joined the ranks of iconic wines from Chile and is now among the global top.
Read more under the tab: Winery with a number of beautiful videos about the wines and the winery.
Specifications
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | Chile |
| Region | Colchagua Valley |
| Winery | Vina Vik Winery |
| Grape | Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Drinking as of | 2024 |
| Drinking till | 2036 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Promotion | Tier Price |
| James Suckling rating | 95 |
| Vinous rating | 92 |
| Tasting Profiles | Complex, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Rood fruit, Tannines, Vol |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Open haard |
Professional Reviews
James Suckling
VIK VALLE DE CACHAPOAL MILLA CALA 2021
Thursday, March 21, 2024
CountryChile
RegionValle Central
Vintage2021
CHECK PRICE
DOWNLOAD SHELFTALKER
Score
95
Dark chocolate, black olives and a touch of sweet tobacco to the sweet blackberries. Rich and deep but very fresh at the same time. Firm, full and pretty seamless. Very long finish. 68% cabernet sauvignon, 16% carmenere, 4% cabernet franc, 7% syrah and 5% merlot. Drink or hold.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Wine Spectator
92
$45
VIK
Milla Cala Millahue 2018
Well-integrated, with fine-grained flavors of dark fruit and savory spice that show accents of olive and dried tarragon. The ripe finish is filled with notes of dark chocolate and plenty of toastiness. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Syrah and Merlot.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
92
Drinking Window
2023 - 2035
From: Chile: Thinking Outside The Box (Jun 2023)
The 2020 Milla Cala is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23.5% Carménère, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1.5% Syrah from Millahue, Cachapoal. 2/3 was aged for 15 months in used barrels and the rest in amphorae and steel. Garnet red in the glass. The ripe nose presents blackcurrant and blueberry notes with hints of herb, dried flowers and a balsamic backdrop. Indulgent and intense in the mouth with a medium volume and polished tannins. The fruit-forward expression ends with a lingering, foresty finish.
- By Joaquín Hidalgo on March 2023
The Norwegian businessman Alexander Vik arrived in Cachapoal in 2006, where he set up a luxury hotel and a winery in a 4,200-hectare estate in the Millahue region. The property, situated on the north side of the Cordón Apalta, includes 323 hectares of a vineyard whose grapes are processed at a pretty winery under the supervision of Cristian Vallejos. Following the 2018 harvest, the focus has shifted to the Vik, La Piu Belle and Milla Cala wines.
92
Drinking Window
2022 - 2030
From: Chile in Transition (Jun 2022)
The 2018 Red Blend Milla Cala is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Carménère, 14% Cabernet Franc, 7% Syrah and 1% Merlot from Millahue, Cachapoal, aged for 20 months in used barrels. Garnet red in the glass, it has a warm-weather profile of black currant and blackberry aromas, plus hints of herb, flowers and hawthorn. Terse in the mouth with a medium volume and polished tannins, the expression is lovely and juice appears at the back of the mouth.
- By Joaquín Hidalgo on June 2022
Norwegian businessman Alexander Vik arrived in Cachapoal in 2006 and set up a luxury hotel and a winery on a 4,200-hectare estate in the Millahue region. The property, situated on the north side of the Cordón Apalta, contains 323 hectares of vineyard, whose grapes are processed at a pretty winery under the supervision of Cristian Vallejos. Following the 2018 harvest, the focus has shifted to the brands Vik, La Piu Belle and Milla Cala.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
98
"Alex and Carrie Vil are the Art-Collecting Couple behind two of South America's best Boutique Hotels. Their newest project, a hotel and winery in Chile's untamed Millahue Valley is their most ambitious yet." - Salma Abdelnour
Condé Nast Traveller"Norwegian-born financier and hotelier Alexander Vik has been hailed for his attention to detail at his celebrated hotels in Uruguay. He and his wife Carrie have applied the same Nordic precision when creating Viña Vik, one of Chile's most ambitious wineries, from 4,400 hectares of scrub-covered hillside in the Cachapoal Valley. Star winemaker Patrick Valette, who learnt the trade at his family's Chateau Pavie in France, established the vineyard from scratch, planting 303 hectares of high-density, drip-fed Cabernet and Carmenere vines that yielded the first ultra-premium blend in March. "
The New York Times"But the alchemy of this beautiful spot is not just a lucky accident; the land under us had been analyzed and dissected extensively in a lab to see what would thrive here. "We wanted to bring the quality of a top estate in Bordeaux," said Patrick Valette, the head winemaker at Viña Vik, stopping to take a look at a particularly ripe bunch of grapes, "while emphasizing what makes the Chilean terroir so unique". … This is especially evident at the Viña Vik, which, though separated from Colchagua by the imposing mountain range, has similar, if not better, conditions for grape growing: plenty of sun, an ideal level of precipitation and varied altitudes and soil types. The estate itself has a state-of-the-art cantina, designed by a star Chilean architect, Smiljan Radic. Results suggest that they are on the right path: their first vintage, the 2009, sold out at $100 a bottle — though we were able to get a taste before it did; it is a delicious red blend, combining five different grapes, with complex flavors of ripe fruit and a long finish. For Old World palates like mine, it’s a familiar taste but one different enough to prove exciting — like a continent-spanning offshoot of Bordeaux. And Mr. Valette believes that the 2010 vintage, released last November, is even better. -Victor Ruiz Caballero
James Suckling Com"Exceptional. VIK is certainly the new star of Chile. - Jessica Harnois, President of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers.
Christian Callec Com"The place is really fabulous, like the Eldorado in your best dreams; an island of peace and beautiful nature, in a place that even well-informed Chilean wine professionals never heard of. And yet, the heavenly site of Millahue in the Cachapoal valley is not much than 1 hour away on horse-back from the well-known Apalta, just the other side of the hill… But Viña VIK is much more than only a paradisiacal place; it is a wonderful that becomes reality. The dream of one man, Alexander VIK. This famous Norwegian businessman might be one of the richest people in the world, he is also and may be on the first place, a sensible and very sensitive person with a great love for nature and culture. His big dream was to have his own vineyard. Therefore, Alexander VIK asked the famous French-Chilean wine specialist and consultant Patrick Valette, to find the best place in South-America to realize this big dream.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
Sign in to unlock professional wine reviews from world-renowned critics
Wijnhuis
The absolute top from Chile is, without a doubt VIK Wines. All wines receive unanimously very high ratings with scores of 98 and 99 out of 100 points. They have four red wines and also launched a rosé in 2022. At VIK, science, technology, and knowledge are the basis, with passion as the engine.
The holistic approach is the perfect combination between man and nature; the base and result of the beautiful dynamic terroir, together with best agriculture practices and excellence in environmental management, gives wines in which only the very best is good enough. In 2019, VIK received the "Best Winery Experience" award from the prestigious Wine Enthusiast magazine in recognition of all the work done during these years.
James Suckling also highlighted VIK's wine innovations, such as the "Barroir" concept, making the terroir concept the purest. The idea is a pioneering process in Chile and the world. Using local oaks, VIK also developed its "barroir" concept to give a sense of place to the oak aging process. With the help of Jean Luc Sylvain of Tonnellerie Sylvain, VIK winemaker Vallejo believes the "barroir" process gives them the precision they want from micro-oxygenation and the subtle flavors of barrel aging. Click here for more information about the Barrier process.
The vineyards are planted in 12 small valleys, totaling 327 hectares of vines. More than 6,000 soil analyzes were performed to match the clonal selection of rootstocks and varieties.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah are planted varieties. Soil types include colluvial, alluvial, sand, clay, and gravelly. The VIK wines are seen in style as the Bordeaux but then of the best kind.
The viticulture concept at VIK is based on optimizing every stage of grape growing and wine production, with a significant focus on science and technology. All are based on reaching optimum levels of maturity in the fruit in each valley to make the best wine. Yield isn't just quality that counts. To obtain only the best quality grapes, they carry out up to three nightly harvests when the grapes are chilled —and always by hand.
Winemaker Cristian Vallejo oversees VIK agriculture, ensuring the grapes are harvested by hand and fermentation occurs naturally with no added yeasts. The wines are aged in a combination of new and used French oak barrels. Currently, the winery is introducing wines aged in amphorae custom made from the vineyard's clay and wines aged in oak barrels roasted with the estate's oak wood.
The VIK wine cellar was designed by celebrated Pritzker Prize candidate Chilean architect Smiljan Radic in collaboration with Alex and Carrie Vik and the team at VIK. It has been carefully designed to have minimal impact on the surrounding landscape.
At VIK, sustainable development is another fundamental pillar that stems from caring for the environment in which the grapes grow. Some of the (far-reaching) measures are:
- We can reuse water to irrigate the vineyard with our own water treatment plant.
- The vines are surrounded by 10,000 hectares of forest.
- Taking care of the natural biodiversity at VIK: there is a great diversity of wildlife (ducks, cormorants, swans, eagles, pumas, etc.) thanks to its geographically isolated location in the interior of the VIK valley.
In addition, the proximity of the forest to the vineyard promotes healthy plant development and a good balance between flora and fauna.
- Have a highly sustainable, state-of-the-art winery using free cooling, solar energy, and natural insulation.
The 5 wines of VIK are:
VIK-A
MILLA CALAI
LA PIU BELLE
LA PIU BELLE ROSÉ
VIK
VIK and Milla Cala grapes come from vineyards in the Los Lazos Valley, the Los Mineros Valley, and the El Boquerón Valley. In contrast, the fruit for La Piu Belle comes from the Almendro Valley, the La Feria Valley, and the Colchagua Valley.
The VIK Milla Cala 2021 is a Bordeaux blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Carmenere, 4% Cabernet Franc, 7% Syrah and 7% Merlot coming from the Andean vineyards in Millahue, Cachapoal Valley. The soil consists of deep, porous decomposed granite soil with good drainage. An important reason why the VIK Wines now have a cult status and are listed in the top of the world's best wineries according to Wine Enthusiast is, among other things, because of the unique (mineral) terroir, but certainly also the altitude and the cool, moist wind from the Pacific Ocean. . All this ensures coolness and a large difference between day and night temperatures and this is a very important ingredient for elegant and balanced wine with a good ratio between the fruit, acids and alcohol.
The Milla Cala reflects the pure terroir of Millahue Valley. Each variety dynamically contributes to the complexity of the Bordeaux-style blend. Cabernet Sauvignon seduces with ripe dark berry fruit and supple velvet tannins. Merlot delivers plush stone fruit while Cabernet Franc elevates the blend with elegant minerality. Carmenere gives the blend its depth, body and flavors of blackberry and plum, and Syrah ends with floral notes of lavender and violet. Twenty months of maturation in French barrels give the final accents of herbs and mocha. A wine to enjoy but great with Foie gras agnolotti in veal consommé, matured cheeses. Suckling writes in his review: ".....Better to give this time, but already a beautiful, juicy red to drink. Drink or hold." Of course this is an ideal wine with the finest meat, but actually this wine is so beautiful that this should actually be drunk solo. This wine deserves your full attention.
FACT: In the 'Attachments' tab you will find the official fact sheet of this beautiful wine. We will send this to you automatically when you order this wine. The wine is stored in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and when you pick up the wine you will often receive a nice discount . You will see your discount immediately when you choose 'Collect' on the checkout page. We are located in Dordrecht almost next to the A16 with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
About Viña Vik Winery
In 2004, Alex and Carrie Vik started an entire team with the audacious goal of creating one of the best wines in the world. After a two-year search, the best terroir was found, located in the Millahue Valley in Chile. Millahue Valley means "Place of Gold". The vineyard is planted in the interior of the valley, offering a variety of terroirs and small microclimates cooled by coastal breezes. The vineyards consist of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah.
The winery was designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radic in collaboration with Alex and Carrie Vik. It has been carefully designed to have minimal impact on the landscape. A state-of-the-art, highly sustainable, technologically creative and visually breathtaking experience. The winery was completed in 2014. Under the leadership of Chilean Patrick Valette (wine consultant, Château Pavie and with French roots) and current winemaker Cristián Vallejo, involved in the project from the start, a wonderful company has been built since 2005. The work is very sustainable, harvesting is completely manual and fermentation takes place naturally without added yeasts.
Today VIK produces four exceptional red wines and a rosé. They are rightly very proud that VIK, La Piu Belle, Milla Cala and "A" have received ratings well into the 90s, such as 99 points from James Suckling, a Master Medal from The Drink Business and platinum and gold medals of the Decanter, along with many other awards.
A water level in the wine cellar cools the barrel cellar without consuming energy. The translucent roof makes daytime work possible without artificial light. Inspired by the purity of our wines, we developed the concept of "Barroir". We roast used and new French barrels with oak from our hills and build our own barrels in our cooperage. These estate crafted barrels embody the flavor of the terroir. Because they approach all the work holistically, they only use fallen centenarian trees that can be found on the immense estate. In 2019, Wine Enthusiast Magazine unveiled their 20th annual Wine Star Awards and named VIK the Wine Star for 'Best Winery Experience'. In 2021, the competition ranked VIK as the 8th prestigious winery among the 50 World's Best Vineyards and iViña Vik has therefore quickly joined the ranks of iconic wines from Chile and is now among the global top.
Read more under the tab: Winery with a number of beautiful videos about the wines and the winery.
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | Chile |
| Region | Colchagua Valley |
| Winery | Vina Vik Winery |
| Grape | Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Drinking as of | 2024 |
| Drinking till | 2036 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Promotion | Tier Price |
| James Suckling rating | 95 |
| Vinous rating | 92 |
| Tasting Profiles | Complex, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Rood fruit, Tannines, Vol |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Open haard |
James Suckling
VIK VALLE DE CACHAPOAL MILLA CALA 2021
Thursday, March 21, 2024
CountryChile
RegionValle Central
Vintage2021
CHECK PRICE
DOWNLOAD SHELFTALKER
Score
95
Dark chocolate, black olives and a touch of sweet tobacco to the sweet blackberries. Rich and deep but very fresh at the same time. Firm, full and pretty seamless. Very long finish. 68% cabernet sauvignon, 16% carmenere, 4% cabernet franc, 7% syrah and 5% merlot. Drink or hold.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Wine Spectator
92
$45
VIK
Milla Cala Millahue 2018
Well-integrated, with fine-grained flavors of dark fruit and savory spice that show accents of olive and dried tarragon. The ripe finish is filled with notes of dark chocolate and plenty of toastiness. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Syrah and Merlot.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
92
Drinking Window
2023 - 2035
From: Chile: Thinking Outside The Box (Jun 2023)
The 2020 Milla Cala is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23.5% Carménère, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1.5% Syrah from Millahue, Cachapoal. 2/3 was aged for 15 months in used barrels and the rest in amphorae and steel. Garnet red in the glass. The ripe nose presents blackcurrant and blueberry notes with hints of herb, dried flowers and a balsamic backdrop. Indulgent and intense in the mouth with a medium volume and polished tannins. The fruit-forward expression ends with a lingering, foresty finish.
- By Joaquín Hidalgo on March 2023
The Norwegian businessman Alexander Vik arrived in Cachapoal in 2006, where he set up a luxury hotel and a winery in a 4,200-hectare estate in the Millahue region. The property, situated on the north side of the Cordón Apalta, includes 323 hectares of a vineyard whose grapes are processed at a pretty winery under the supervision of Cristian Vallejos. Following the 2018 harvest, the focus has shifted to the Vik, La Piu Belle and Milla Cala wines.
92
Drinking Window
2022 - 2030
From: Chile in Transition (Jun 2022)
The 2018 Red Blend Milla Cala is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Carménère, 14% Cabernet Franc, 7% Syrah and 1% Merlot from Millahue, Cachapoal, aged for 20 months in used barrels. Garnet red in the glass, it has a warm-weather profile of black currant and blackberry aromas, plus hints of herb, flowers and hawthorn. Terse in the mouth with a medium volume and polished tannins, the expression is lovely and juice appears at the back of the mouth.
- By Joaquín Hidalgo on June 2022
Norwegian businessman Alexander Vik arrived in Cachapoal in 2006 and set up a luxury hotel and a winery on a 4,200-hectare estate in the Millahue region. The property, situated on the north side of the Cordón Apalta, contains 323 hectares of vineyard, whose grapes are processed at a pretty winery under the supervision of Cristian Vallejos. Following the 2018 harvest, the focus has shifted to the brands Vik, La Piu Belle and Milla Cala.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
98
"Alex and Carrie Vil are the Art-Collecting Couple behind two of South America's best Boutique Hotels. Their newest project, a hotel and winery in Chile's untamed Millahue Valley is their most ambitious yet." - Salma Abdelnour
Condé Nast Traveller"Norwegian-born financier and hotelier Alexander Vik has been hailed for his attention to detail at his celebrated hotels in Uruguay. He and his wife Carrie have applied the same Nordic precision when creating Viña Vik, one of Chile's most ambitious wineries, from 4,400 hectares of scrub-covered hillside in the Cachapoal Valley. Star winemaker Patrick Valette, who learnt the trade at his family's Chateau Pavie in France, established the vineyard from scratch, planting 303 hectares of high-density, drip-fed Cabernet and Carmenere vines that yielded the first ultra-premium blend in March. "
The New York Times"But the alchemy of this beautiful spot is not just a lucky accident; the land under us had been analyzed and dissected extensively in a lab to see what would thrive here. "We wanted to bring the quality of a top estate in Bordeaux," said Patrick Valette, the head winemaker at Viña Vik, stopping to take a look at a particularly ripe bunch of grapes, "while emphasizing what makes the Chilean terroir so unique". … This is especially evident at the Viña Vik, which, though separated from Colchagua by the imposing mountain range, has similar, if not better, conditions for grape growing: plenty of sun, an ideal level of precipitation and varied altitudes and soil types. The estate itself has a state-of-the-art cantina, designed by a star Chilean architect, Smiljan Radic. Results suggest that they are on the right path: their first vintage, the 2009, sold out at $100 a bottle — though we were able to get a taste before it did; it is a delicious red blend, combining five different grapes, with complex flavors of ripe fruit and a long finish. For Old World palates like mine, it’s a familiar taste but one different enough to prove exciting — like a continent-spanning offshoot of Bordeaux. And Mr. Valette believes that the 2010 vintage, released last November, is even better. -Victor Ruiz Caballero
James Suckling Com"Exceptional. VIK is certainly the new star of Chile. - Jessica Harnois, President of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers.
Christian Callec Com"The place is really fabulous, like the Eldorado in your best dreams; an island of peace and beautiful nature, in a place that even well-informed Chilean wine professionals never heard of. And yet, the heavenly site of Millahue in the Cachapoal valley is not much than 1 hour away on horse-back from the well-known Apalta, just the other side of the hill… But Viña VIK is much more than only a paradisiacal place; it is a wonderful that becomes reality. The dream of one man, Alexander VIK. This famous Norwegian businessman might be one of the richest people in the world, he is also and may be on the first place, a sensible and very sensitive person with a great love for nature and culture. His big dream was to have his own vineyard. Therefore, Alexander VIK asked the famous French-Chilean wine specialist and consultant Patrick Valette, to find the best place in South-America to realize this big dream.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
Sign in to unlock professional wine reviews from world-renowned critics
The absolute top from Chile is, without a doubt VIK Wines. All wines receive unanimously very high ratings with scores of 98 and 99 out of 100 points. They have four red wines and also launched a rosé in 2022. At VIK, science, technology, and knowledge are the basis, with passion as the engine.
The holistic approach is the perfect combination between man and nature; the base and result of the beautiful dynamic terroir, together with best agriculture practices and excellence in environmental management, gives wines in which only the very best is good enough. In 2019, VIK received the "Best Winery Experience" award from the prestigious Wine Enthusiast magazine in recognition of all the work done during these years.
James Suckling also highlighted VIK's wine innovations, such as the "Barroir" concept, making the terroir concept the purest. The idea is a pioneering process in Chile and the world. Using local oaks, VIK also developed its "barroir" concept to give a sense of place to the oak aging process. With the help of Jean Luc Sylvain of Tonnellerie Sylvain, VIK winemaker Vallejo believes the "barroir" process gives them the precision they want from micro-oxygenation and the subtle flavors of barrel aging. Click here for more information about the Barrier process.
The vineyards are planted in 12 small valleys, totaling 327 hectares of vines. More than 6,000 soil analyzes were performed to match the clonal selection of rootstocks and varieties.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah are planted varieties. Soil types include colluvial, alluvial, sand, clay, and gravelly. The VIK wines are seen in style as the Bordeaux but then of the best kind.
The viticulture concept at VIK is based on optimizing every stage of grape growing and wine production, with a significant focus on science and technology. All are based on reaching optimum levels of maturity in the fruit in each valley to make the best wine. Yield isn't just quality that counts. To obtain only the best quality grapes, they carry out up to three nightly harvests when the grapes are chilled —and always by hand.
Winemaker Cristian Vallejo oversees VIK agriculture, ensuring the grapes are harvested by hand and fermentation occurs naturally with no added yeasts. The wines are aged in a combination of new and used French oak barrels. Currently, the winery is introducing wines aged in amphorae custom made from the vineyard's clay and wines aged in oak barrels roasted with the estate's oak wood.
The VIK wine cellar was designed by celebrated Pritzker Prize candidate Chilean architect Smiljan Radic in collaboration with Alex and Carrie Vik and the team at VIK. It has been carefully designed to have minimal impact on the surrounding landscape.
At VIK, sustainable development is another fundamental pillar that stems from caring for the environment in which the grapes grow. Some of the (far-reaching) measures are:
- We can reuse water to irrigate the vineyard with our own water treatment plant.
- The vines are surrounded by 10,000 hectares of forest.
- Taking care of the natural biodiversity at VIK: there is a great diversity of wildlife (ducks, cormorants, swans, eagles, pumas, etc.) thanks to its geographically isolated location in the interior of the VIK valley.
In addition, the proximity of the forest to the vineyard promotes healthy plant development and a good balance between flora and fauna.
- Have a highly sustainable, state-of-the-art winery using free cooling, solar energy, and natural insulation.
The 5 wines of VIK are:
VIK-A
MILLA CALAI
LA PIU BELLE
LA PIU BELLE ROSÉ
VIK
VIK and Milla Cala grapes come from vineyards in the Los Lazos Valley, the Los Mineros Valley, and the El Boquerón Valley. In contrast, the fruit for La Piu Belle comes from the Almendro Valley, the La Feria Valley, and the Colchagua Valley.