Renowned wine critic Virginie Boone praised the wine’s ability to express the Alto Jahuel terroir and described it as a Cabernet Sauvignon with “structured beyond belief.”

Casa Real 2023, Viña Santa Rita’s flagship wine, earned 98 points in the latest Chile Report published by Jeb Dunnuck, one of the most influential wine criticism platforms in the United States.

The review was conducted by acclaimed wine journalist and critic Virginie Boone, who awarded Casa Real the highest score achieved in the report, placing it among the top-rated Chilean wines in this edition.

In her review, Boone highlighted the Andean origin of the Alto Jahuel vineyard in the Maipo Valley, the fruit sourced from some of the estate’s oldest blocks—planted in the 1970s and 1980s—and the wine’s ability to faithfully convey its sense of place.

“From a warm but not extreme year, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Casa Real (…) aims for a true look at the Andes-influenced estate vineyard of Alto Jahuel (…) All Cabernet Sauvignon, picked on the early side, the wine offers supple, well-integrated tannin even in its youth, with a complex maze of red fruit, both aromatically and in flavor,” Boone wrote.

The Senior Editor for JebDunnuck.com also highlighted the wine’s extraordinary aging potential, noting that “structured beyond belief, this will age 20–30 years.”

During her visit to Viña Santa Rita, Boone also had the opportunity to taste the 2022 and 2020 vintages of Casa Real, awarding them 97 and 96 points, respectively. She described the 2022 wine as “spectacular,” with the capacity to age for 20 to 30 years, while highlighting the 2020 for its velvety texture, depth, and strong sense of place.

The recognition reinforces a legacy that began with the first vintage of Casa Real in 1989, making it one of South America’s pioneering icon wines. Crafted exclusively from Cabernet Sauvignon since its inception, it comes from 20 hectares of massal-selection, ungrafted vineyards in Alto Jahuel. Through precision viticulture and micro-vinification by individual lots, Casa Real seeks to express one of the world’s great terroirs for Cabernet Sauvignon with the utmost fidelity.

“This recognition reflects the tremendous potential of our historic Alto Jahuel vineyards and the consistency Casa Real has demonstrated for more than three decades. It is a very positive signal for the wine, for Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, for the Maipo Valley, and especially for Alto Jahuel,” said Sebastián Labbé, winemaker of Casa Real.

Throughout its history, Casa Real has helped position the Maipo Valley among the great origins for Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2013, it became the first Latin American wine to be recognized as a Decanter Wine Legend. Since 2021, it has also been distributed through La Place de Bordeaux, one of the world’s most prestigious fine wine distribution networks.

Founded by renowned American wine critic Jeb Dunnuck, the publication has become a trusted reference for consumers, collectors, importers, distributors, and wine professionals worldwide, recognized for its rigorous reviews and influence in key markets such as the United States.