Chile · Central Valley

Odfjell Vineyards

A Chilean family estate linking Maipo reds with Maule’s old-vine, dry-farmed Carignan.

The producer

Odfjell Vineyards began after Norwegian shipowner Dan Odfjell came to Chile in the late 1980s and took an interest in Maipo. His sons Laurence Odfjell and Dan Jr. now lead the family producer, with Francisca Palacios as head winemaker. Maipo remains the winery’s home and supplies its mid-premium reds, while Maule provides fruit for higher-tier releases, notably Carignan from Cauquenes.

At Tres Esquinas in Maule, 18 hectares include head-trained, dry-farmed Carignan vines more than a century old. Those vines shape Vigno 2019, a 100% Carignan with dark and red fruit, savoury earth, firm acidity and tannin grip. Organic and biodynamic principles extend into the vineyards, where Norwegian Fjord horses aerate soil, manage winter vegetation and provide manure; gravity moves wine through a largely underground Maipo winery with less pumping.

Known for

Old-vine, dry-farmed Maule Carignan, especially Vigno.

Notable facts

The story

A winery built into the hillside

When Odfjell built its Maipo winery, Laurence Odfjell designed the building so that most of it would sit underground and wine could travel through the cellar by gravity. An independent account puts about 60% of the winery below ground. Rather than pumping juice and wine between stages, the layout uses changes in level to move it onward, while the hillside surrounds much of the cellar. The underground structure and gravity route were part of the original plan for making Odfjell’s Maipo reds, not a later alteration to an existing building.

From the atlas

Odfjell Vineyards

At A Glance

Odfjell Vineyards is a family producer rooted in Chile’s Maipo Valley, with its most ambitious wines coming from Maule. The name to look for is Vigno: a 100% Carignan from old, dry-farmed vines, bringing dark and red fruit, firm acidity and savoury grip rather than the softer profile often associated with Chilean red blends.

The Producer

Norwegian shipowner Dan Odfjell came to Chile in the late 1980s and became interested in the Maipo Valley, turning that interest into a family wine project. His sons, Laurence Odfjell and Dan Jr., now lead the estate, while Francisca Palacios directs the winemaking. Maipo remains the winery’s home and the source of its mid-premium wines; Maule supplies the top-tier bottlings, where old-vine Carignan takes a central role.

Place

The estate works across Maipo, Curicó and Maule, so a bottle’s origin matters at Odfjell. Maipo is the base for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carménère and Syrah-led wines, while Maule provides the fruit for higher-tier releases such as Vigno and Elusiva. That division is useful on the shelf: a Maipo bottle points towards the estate’s home ground and broader red-wine range, while a Maule label leads towards deeper Carignan-based material.

Soil And Site

Tres Esquinas lies in Cauquenes, in Maule Valley, around 400 kilometres south of Santiago. Its 18 hectares include Carignan vines more than a century old, trained as individual head-trained bushes and farmed without irrigation. Those old, dry-farmed plants are the physical foundation of Vigno: Carignan’s naturally firm acidity and tannin arrive with red and dark fruit, savoury notes and a more textured palate than a straightforward fruit-forward red.

Story

Odfjell began in Maipo but did not remain a single-valley project. The estate developed its winery there while exploring Cauquenes and Carignan early in Chile’s modern rediscovery of the variety. This created a portfolio with two distinct centres of gravity: Maipo for the established home vineyard and a broad set of reds, Maule for old-vine Carignan and the bottles with more pronounced grip, acidity and dry-farmed concentration.

That split also explains why Odfjell’s range does not depend on one grape. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carménère and Syrah remain part of the Maipo story, while Carignan supplies a separate line of flavour: darker fruit, red-fruit lift, savoury earth and a firmer frame. Vigno makes the division most visible because it is entirely Carignan rather than a blend built around it.

Vineyards And Cellar

The vineyards follow organic and biodynamic farming principles, and Odfjell states that its grapes are certified organic by Ecocert Chile while its production holds sustainability certification. Norwegian Fjord horses work among the vines, aerating soils, managing winter vegetation and supplying manure. These are practical jobs: soil cultivation and vegetation control happen without treating the vineyard as a uniform surface.

The Maipo winery was designed for gravity flow, with an independent account describing 60% of the building as underground. Moving wine through the cellar by gravity reduces pumping, while the underground structure uses the hillside as part of the winery environment. For red wines that spend time in barrel, the aim is a careful handling of fruit and tannin before oak and bottle ageing take over.

Wines

The range runs from Armador, Capítulo, Aliara and Zippora through Orzada to the higher-positioned Elusiva and Vigno. The first group reflects Odfjell’s Maipo base and its work with several red varieties; Orzada extends the Carignan thread; Vigno and Elusiva sit at the top of the supplied range structure.

Vigno is the most direct expression of Maule Carignan. The 2019 is 100% Carignan and receives barrel ageing, combining dark and red fruit with savoury notes, acidity and a structured, textured palate. Elusiva 2021 is a higher-tier red blend aged in 500-litre French oak barrels and concrete spheres. Its supported profile is ripe fruit held by acidity and tannin, with a persistent finish rather than sweetness or simple oak weight.

In The Glass

Across the Carignan wines, start with dark berry fruit and red-fruit brightness, then look for savoury, earthy notes as the wine opens. The palate is dry and medium- to full-bodied, with firm acidity carrying the fruit through the middle and tannin adding grip. Barrel ageing adds shape, but Vigno’s lasting impression is its textured mouthfeel and long, savoury finish.

Elusiva moves into a different register. Its blend brings ripe fruit and more layered body, while French oak and concrete ageing support tannin and acidity rather than turning the wine into a vanilla-led red. Expect fruit first, then a dry, persistent finish with tannin still present.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Odfjell Vigno 2019. It is 100% Carignan from the producer’s Maule story: old, head-trained, dry-farmed vines in Cauquenes, followed by barrel ageing. In the glass it brings dark and red fruit, savoury earth, firm acidity and a textured dry palate with tannin on the finish. It puts the vineyard, grape and cellar work in one bottle without asking a blend to explain them.

Anecdote

When Odfjell built its Maipo winery, Laurence Odfjell designed it so that most of the building would sit underground and the wine could move through the cellar by gravity. An independent account describes about 60% of the winery below ground. Instead of relying on pumping to move juice and wine between stages, the layout lets gravity do much of that work, while the hillside becomes part of the building’s temperature-controlled environment. The design was not an addition made after the winery opened: its underground form and gravity-flow route were built into the way Odfjell planned to make its reds in Maipo.

Final Word

Odfjell is most revealing when Maipo and Maule are read together: a family estate with a broad Chilean red-wine range, and a sharper old-vine Carignan focus in Cauquenes. Vigno is where the dry-farmed vineyard, firm acidity and savoury finish come into clearest view.

Sources

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