The mission of Cousiño Macul is to produce world-class wines that are unmistakably Chilean, carrying the distinctive character of the Maipo Valley. The name of the winery is derived from the family name of its founder (Matías Cousiño), plus the name given to the area where the estate was built, within the Maipo Valley: the company name implies “the Cousiño estate at Macul”. “Macul” is a word from the language spoken by the indigenous people before the discovery of America; the language is Quechua, and Macul in Quechua means “right hand”.
In 1994, the capital city of Santiago had expanded to the point of completely surrounding the original Macul estate in the southeast of the city, so the search for an additional single estate vineyard location began. In May 1996, the Cousiño family bought 750 acres of land in Buin, an agriculturally rich subregion of the Maipo Valley, about 20 miles southeast of Santiago. The Buin estate met the Cousiños’ ambitious criteria of soil composition, climate and proximity to the Andes Mountains.
In 1994, the capital city of Santiago had expanded to the point of completely surrounding the original Macul estate in the southeast of the city, so the search for an additional single estate vineyard location began. In May 1996, the Cousiño family bought 750 acres of land in Buin, an agriculturally rich subregion of the Maipo Valley, about 20 miles southeast of Santiago. The Buin estate met the Cousiños’ ambitious criteria of soil composition, climate and proximity to the Andes Mountains.
Winemaking Philosophy
All Cousiño-Macul wines are made entirely with grapes sourced from its two estates located in the Maipo Valley. Both the Macul estate in the southeast of Santiago and the estate in Buin are part of the subregion known as Alto Maipo. The Alto Maipo is appropriately named due to high altitude orientation at the foot of the Andes Mountains. As the snow melts in the spring and summer, the Andes provide an ample source of pure, fresh water for vineyard irrigation. The soil is especially suited for the production of high-quality grapes: shallow, sandy-silky topsoil with rough stone below. All vines are planted on original root systems. Vines for new plantations come from massal selections carried out in the nurseries at Macul over a period of 10 years. This selection has allowed the preservation of genetic material of great value, originally brought to Chile by Luis Cousiño in 1860, including Cabernet and Merlot varieties from Pauillac in Haut-Medoc, and Sauvignon Gris from Martillac in Graves. The Cousiño family is committed to the environment and has put in place an integrated sustainable management system in its production processes, its mission is to minimize the impact on the environment as much as possible, maintaining the quality that characterizes the wines of Cousiño Macul. Based on international standards to limit the environmental impact of winemaking, they are proud to use:- ENERGY EFFICIENCY
- WASTE MINIMIZATION
- FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDE MANAGEMENT
- CODE OF ETHICS
The vineyard recycles part of the waste it generates; the papers and cards sent to SOREPA, the plastics with the intermediary Luz Valenzuela; glasses through COANIQUEM are sent to Cristalerías Chile, Duelas are recycled with the company TINTO and the waste with Industrias VINICAS.
