2022 Morande Cabernet Sauvignon La Capilla El Cabernet de Ranquil Valle del Itata Chile 750 ml

Real quick: If we were to pitch you an extremely rare 97-point Cabernet from Napa Valley, what price would you hope to see? $100? $200? Anyone who knows Napa Cab knows you'd be blessed to find a 97-pointer for those prices.

And that is what makes the 2022 Morande Cabernet Sauvignon La Capilla El Cabernet de Ranquil such a remarkable buy. Crafted from a minuscule (just 1.96 hectares) block of 130-year-old Cabernet vines, it is an absolutely stunning Cabernet that stands with the marquee names of Napa.

Pablo Morandé is one of the founding fathers of Chile's Casablanca Valley—among the first to recognize the region's immense potential for cool-climate varieties. But for the Cabernet La Capilla, Morandé looked elsewhere, to a historic parcel in the Ranquil area of the Secano Costero, deep in Chile's Itata Valley.

Chief winemaker Ricardo Baettig describes Itata Cabernet as more Médoc than Maipo. Where Chile's famous Maipo Cabernets run meaty and powerfully tannic, Ránquil is elegant and red-fruited, shaped by quartz-rich granite into something closer to an old Bordeaux than a typical Chilean Cab.

The Itata Valley has grown grapes since the 16th century. By the 1980s, the area had shifted toward quantity over quality—but a handful of prized parcels survived intact. Among them is the historic La Capilla Vineyard, set within an estate of over 80 hectares, of which only 17 are planted to vines. La Capilla itself—the only Cabernet block on the property—is just 1.96 hectares. The vines, now 130 years old, grow on their own roots and are still plowed by horse, supported by guiding wires but otherwise left largely to their own devices.

Aged 16 months in French oak and another two years in bottle, the 2022 is deep garnet with a vibrant ruby edge. The nose delivers blackcurrant, wild blackberry, and dark cherry, lifted by eucalyptus, crushed bay leaf, graphite, and dried violets. On the palate, it is focused and energetic—dense dark fruit framed by firm, finely woven tannins and a vein of fresh acidity.

The warm, dry 2022 is regarded as one of Chile's finest recent vintages, often compared to the benchmark 2018, giving the fruit real concentration while the vineyard's coastal granite kept it fresh. Fewer than 250 cases of this wine were made, and it rarely reaches the United States.