Guillermo Barbier

Guillermo Barbier

Guillermo Barbier trained as an engineer. His family had owned old vineyards in Vistalba since the 1960s. (Planted in 1924 by the original Tuscan settlers, these vineyards had been parcelled with sensitive awareness of site and terroir, and thrived.) In the 1990s, Guillermo felt the pull of the family vineyards and decided to get more closely involved. He collaborated over a decade with leading wineries, including Cheval dos Andes, to supply them with his old-vine grapes. In the meantime, he set about learning viticulture, while continuing to work as an engineer. In 2007 he founded his own estate based solely on these old family vineyards. The old-vine wines, made by the acclaimed winemaker Juan Manuel Gonzàles, are widely recognised as among the finest in the country, and awarded ‘First Growth’ status by Tim Atkin MW.