In 1856, Matias Cousiño purchased Hacienda Macul, an estate of nearly a thousand hectares at the foot of the Andes Mountains in the Maipo Valley, south of Santiago and Arturo Cousiño, the present Chairman of Viña Cousiño-Macul, is the sixth generation to run the estate. Macul is the name of the local area, given to a conquistador in 1564, and means ‘right hand’ in the indigenous Quecha language. Fiercly proud of their high reputation - Hugh Johnson describes the wines as ‘the first growth of Chile’ – their wines are made only from grapes grown on their own vineyards.

The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for the Antiguas Reservas, the winery’s signature wine, are sourced from two vineyards in the Maipo Valley at the foot of the Andes Mountains; 70% from Buin Estate in the Alto-Maipo area and 30% from Macul Estate which is, literally, surrounded by the encroaching city of Santiago. Antiguas Reservas has always been a limited selection of the very best Cabernet Sauvignon, ever since the first Vintage was made, in 1927, and the wine is aged for 13 months in small French oak barrels [33% new] and rested for a further six months, in bottle, prior to release.