Despite it's fairly ominous name, this particular brand of wine by renowned winemaker Concha y Toro isn't exactly otherworldly.  

Concha y Toro began in 1883 with one Melchor Concha y Toro. He was a prominent Chilean lawyer, politician, and businessman but unlike others of his time, he had great faith in Chile's winemaking potential.

One thing that many people might not know, is that Don Melchor was actually the seventh Marquis of Casa Concha. With noble blood that dated back to 1718, it would not be far-fetched to say that the wines to be produced in his name had a link to royalty.

As a man with means, his next course of action would be to bring in French vines from the Bordeaux region, as well as substantial investments in winemaking machinery.

With the equipment and grapes, lush swathes of vineyard soon filled the land in the town of Pirque. Notably, he also commissioned the building of a wine cellar in the form of a subway vault.

Don't be fooled by this unassuming tale, however. The story of Casillero del Diablo is centered around this very subway vault.
 

You see, many years ago Don Melchor was said to have put his most valuable, delectable wines in this subway vault on his property.

While a large iron gate protected the contents of the cellar, Don Melchor soon realised that bottles were gradually disappearing from his collection. As the story goes, the villagers came to know of this collection, and fancied themselves a bottle or two of the good stuff.

Understandably, he became quite fed up with his favorite wines being whisked away in the dead of night. Naturally, the next best course of action was to begin a rumour. A rumour that soon led to the creation of an impressive, internationally-renowned wine.

Legend says he started going around sprinkling down a tale: that the Devil himself was living deep within the Concha y Toro cellar, and that anyone who was to nick the cellar's wine was at risk of incurring his wrath. 

From a more superstitious time, the tale spread like wildfire throughout the village, and soon every villager became wary of the cellar. It became so well known tha some even claimed it was true. To the amusement of Don Melchor, villagers even went so far as to say they had witnessed the devil himself in the cellar.

Over the years, Casillero del Diablo has become a keystone in Concha y Toro's lineup. Sold and renown in more than 135 countries, its variety provide drinkers with Chile's most extensive wine selection.

Casillero del Diablo's varieties offer drinkers a taste of more than ten types of wine grapes. Beyond the wineyards of Concha y Toro, the brand also sources grape varieties from wineries in the Maipo, Maule, Rapel, Casablanca and Limar Valleys. 

Concha y Toro's wines can be differentiated through several grades, namely the Reserva, the Devil's Collection, Reserva Privada, and Riserva Especial. The brands premium and super premium wines fall under the Reserva Privada and Reserva Especial labels.

Its titles aren't just all for show, however. Concha y Toro's wine's have claimed a multitude of awards, and Casillero del Diablo isn't left out.

Despite the pandemic in 2021, it even was named one of the world's most recognizable wine brands. During a similar period in time, it was also voted the top wine in Sweden and Mexico for the first time, as well as counting itself among the top three in the UK.

Today Concha y Toro is the largest wine producer in all of South America, and yet what is most impressive is that despite its scale, it remains a highly respected winery that has successfully cusped both entry level labels and premium expressions.

Till date it manages over 8,700 hectares of vineyards across Chile's major winegrowing regions, with its vines dominated by international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carmenere for the reds, and Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Gewurztraminer for the whites. Besides the popular Casillero del Diablo brand, Concha y Toro also owns Vina Maipo, and has a joint venture with the illustrious Rothschild's in the form of the Vina Almaviva winery.

It's wines are so good, that it even garnered the support of big names in the film industry in a marketing effort aimed at increasing demand for its white wines.

The 60-second piece, titled "Everything I own", was directed by Ronald Smith and written by Daniel Perez and Coco Solari. Esteemed directors Landia and Rodrigo Saavedra directed the video, while actor Pedro Pascal also lent his face to the campaign, .

Oddly enough, this isn't Casillero del Diablo's first brush with international stars. 

In 2010, the brand signed a strategic alliance with English soccer club Manchester United. While it's not unheard of for spirits and beer brands to attach themselves to soccer clubs, this monumental partnership was a first in the wine industry.

Amusingly, both club and wine brand have the devil involved in their symbols or identity (Manchester United is commonly referred to as "The Red Devils").

Today, Casillero del Diablo continues to wield an impressive array of wines, with an equally impressive array of accolades. We might never know if its wines truly come from a cellar owned by the devil, but few wine drinkers can deny the brand's devilishly charming nature.

Lok Bing Hong A budding journalist that loves experiencing new things and telling people's stories. I have 30 seconds of coherence a day. I do not decide when they come. They are not consecutive.