Philippe Debrus has dedicated a lifetime to producing fine wines. His extensive experience, coupled with the dedication of the entire staff at Botalcura Winery, is instantly recognizable in every bottle of Botalcura wine.

Having honed his skills in winemaking, viticulture, and technical tasting at some of the most prestigious chateaux of his native France, Philippe has made Chile his home since 1996. It is his distinguished work in these Chilean vineyards that has brought him international acclaim for his wines.

The fruit arrive each fall to our 650,000-liter winery’s grape reception area that guarantees that the fruit is received into the winery as simply and gently as possible. A clean, sterile conveyor belt lifts the fruit to a platform where a destemmer carefully separates the grapes from the stems. From this height, which is on the same level as the tanks inside the winery, the must travels through specially prepared pipes. These pipes have the precise diameter to reduce friction between the berries, thus minimizing the risk of lowering the tannin quality. They have also been laid out horizontally, level with the tops of the tanks, to avoid subjecting the must to pressure and to allow the tanks to be filled by gravity. Our innovative tanks are exclusive to the Botalcura Winery and were designed by Philippe Debrus, who fitted them with movable tops that facilitate a careful vigilance of the fermentation process and allow the use of punch-downs instead of pump-overs.

While the Botalcura Winery is equipped with the most sophisticated technology in the business; every step of the process is handled with the special care essential to produce handcrafted wines. Technical tools are carefully monitored and fermenting musts are evaluated by seasoned palates, searching for that elusive perfect harmony of flavor, texture, and aroma.

The bottling and labeling process is aided by the most sophisticated technology. All of our products undergo a rigorous process of quality control that allows precise tracking of every bottle of the 40,000 cases that are shipped around the world to a range of demanding markets, including Germany, Mexico, Russia, and the United States.

Barrel Cellar. This is where the wines age quietly in French, American, and Central European oak barrels, made by prestigious coopers such as Taransaud, Seguin Moreau, François Freres, Demptos, and Radoux.