Family-owned Lontué winery harvesting by hand and crushing grapes above its fermentation vats without pumps.
The producer
Viña AltaCima is owned by Klaus Schröder and Katharina Hanke in the Lontué Valley of Curicó Province, Maule Region. A trained crew harvests individual bunches by hand. At the winery, the fruit is manually emptied onto a second-floor sorting conveyor and softly crushed above the fermentation vats without pumps. The 2007 AltaCima 4.090 Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenère Syrah combines 70% Cabernet Sauvignon with 15% Carmenère and 15% Syrah.
Known for
Hand-harvested Lontué wines
Notable facts
Klaus Schröder and Katharina Hanke own the family winery in the Lontué Valley.
Individual bunches are cut by hand by a specially trained crew.
Grapes are sorted on the winery's second floor and crushed above the fermentation vats without pumps.
The 2007 red blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Carmenère and 15% Syrah.
From the atlas
Viña AltaCima
A family-owned boutique winery in the Lontué Valley, combining hand harvesting with pump-free crushing above the fermentation vats.
Klaus Schröder and Katharina Hanke own Viña AltaCima in the Lontué Valley. Schröder studied winemaking and vineyard management at Weinsburg and Geisenheim in Germany. After emigrating to Chile, he worked as an oenologist at San Pedro for 15 years and received the Chilean wine industry's Al Mérito Vitivinícola award in 1996.
The couple acquired and planted 62 hectares at the mouth of the Lontué River's transversal valley. A specially trained crew harvests individual bunches by hand. The vineyards surround the winery, allowing the grapes to travel a short distance at low speed in shallow 15-kilogram cases.
Inside the winery, grapes are manually emptied onto a second-floor sorting conveyor. They are softly crushed above the fermentation vats without pumps. Every bottle label is applied by hand.
Place
The vineyard has muddy, clayey soils containing volcanic ash and a semi-arid Mediterranean climate. Ocean and southerly winds meet where the vines are planted, creating morning fog that freshens and protects the grapes. The fog clears around midday, leaving a few hours of sufficient heat for ripening.
The 4.090 range takes its name from the altitude of nearby Volcán Peteroa. The grapes for these wines grow at the volcano's foot.
Wines
AltaCima 4090 Gewürztraminer Reserva 2019 is entirely Gewürztraminer, while AltaCima 4090 Chardonnay 2019 is entirely Chardonnay.
The 2007 AltaCima 4.090 Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenère Syrah blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Carmenère and 15% Syrah. A contemporary tasting note found herbs, blackberry, toasted oak and plum across aroma and palate, calling the wine fruity but boring.