Two Very Highly Recommended Reds From Chile

Two Very Highly Recommended Reds From Chile

Clos des Fous Cauquenina 2014, 14%, 

€22.99 Blackrock Cellar Green Man Wines Molloys Clonsilla The Corkscrew Wineonline.ie

Cauquenina, meaning “girl from Cauquenes”, is a blend of several varietals. Each lot was vinified and aged separately to create aromas of black pepper, tea leaves, graphite and violet and a full-bodied wine. Blend: 27% Carmenère , 25% Carignano/Carignan, 11% Petite Sirah, 10% Cinsault , 10% Malbec, 10% Pais, 7% Syrah/Shiraz. The amounts and varietals in the blend are not necessarily the same in each vintage.

Colour is a deep ruby red. Aromas are quite intense, red fruit like strawberry and raspberry and darker such as cherry. The palate is light and dry; reminds me of a Beaujolais Gamay one moment, of a Burgundy Pinot Noir the next. These are two of my favourite grapes, so I’m very happy with it and its generous and smooth palate, smooth tannins too, its balance and its good long finish as well. Very Highly Recommended.

This quite original wine starts with each varietal being vinified and aged separately. Fermentation took place in cement vats. A portion (about 15 to 20%) of the wine was put into new French oak barrels and the other part in one-year-old barrels. The fermentations were slow and careful so as not to over-extract.

Clos des Fous is about four friends, four crazy guys that have chosen to ignore the experts about where to plant vineyards and to trust their own instincts. But don’t worry, the four are experts themselves, experts with a mission. The four (listed on the label in tiny print) are winemaker Pedro Parra, François Massoc (extensive experience in Burgundy), winemaker Paco Leyton (Altos las Hormigas, Puculan) and businessman Albert Cussen (strengths in admin and finance). 

They are about growing wines over “the Chilean extreme, fresh and unpredictable places, looking for natural balance”. “This is a unique and groundbreaking project based on a delicate and novel terroir selection. Following the Burgundy philosophy, our focus is to achieve wines with minimal intervention, letting the terroir express itself.” 

Clos des Fous (the madmen’s vineyard) is highly praised in Wines of South America: “Their approach produces wines that distinctively express their terroir, made with organic fruit and using techniques that are so minimalist that the wines are vinified without ‘safety nets such as fining or filtering'.”

Montes Alpha Carmenère Valle De Colchagua (DO) 2018, 14.5% 

€22.99 Baggot Street Wines, Ely Wine Store, Sweeney’s D3, Terroirs, The Corkscrew Wineonline.ie, World Wide Wines

Deep dark red is the colour here. Intense blackberry on the nose, tobacco (I barely remember that!), plus a touch of Mocha and toasty too. And that continues on the assertive palate, deliciously fruity and certainly full-bodied, one to be sipped and savoured, and the smooth tannins carry you into a long and pleasing finish. Yet another very satisfactory Montes wine and Very Highly Recommended.

The grapes were cold soaked at 10°C for five days to extract aroma and colour. Following this, they underwent fermentation in temperature controlled stainless-steel tanks for 12 days and were then kept on the skins to impart structure and colour. 55% of the final blend was aged in French oak barrels for 12 months.

Montes are serious players. According to the Wines of South America, Montes (founded in 1988) is credited for its pioneering work in the Colchagua’s Apalta district, the first to realise its potential as one of the best locations for red wines in Chile and “is among the most important wineries in Chile today”. As a further endorsement, their Alpha “M” (very limited production) is listed as one of the top 20 South American wines to drink before you die.

Liberty have some interesting background detail: They learned, when they started producing Montes Alpha in 1987, that they needed balanced yields and to harvest when the grapes were ripe. They adapted these practices to all their vineyards and the results were startling. Montes’ own vineyards now cover 75% of their requirements. The other 25% of fruit is produced in vineyards that they have planted, cultivated and picked. In other words, they control everything except the ownership of the land. In addition to this control over the vineyard, they also sell in bulk what is not good enough to go into the bottles that carry their label. Having made the selection in the vineyard, they are able to make a further selection in the winery. The results are there for you to taste.

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Pedro Parra and Pais the links in this very highly recommended Chilean double

Pedro Parra and Pais the links in this very highly recommended Chilean double

Pedro Parra “Vinista” Itata Chile 2018, 13%, €23.99 

Blackrock Cellar, Redmonds, The Corkscrew and www.wineolnline.ie

This wine from southern Chile is a light to mid ruby. Wild red berries feature in the aromas, with herb notes in the background. Refreshing bright juicy fruit on the palate, a hint of spice too. String quartet rather than full orchestra, it is immediately harmonious right through to the engaging finalé. 

A young beauty from ancient Pais vines. Don’t say no just because you’re not familiar with the Pais grape (also known as Mission). I’m loving this one. Very Highly Recommended. I’m also putting his Cinsault on my list. And I read somewhere that Gamay may also be considered by Pedro.

Pedro Parra (see also Clos de Fous below) is a renowned soil and vineyard mapping expert with a Masters and PhD in Precision Agriculture and Terroir from the Institut Agronomique National in Paris. There are photos of him all over the internet, with 99% of them showing him climbing out of a 6’ deep hole, holes he excavates for soil analysis purposes. No wonder he is also known as Dr Terroir!

He has spent decades working internationally but bit by bit realised he really wanted his own vineyard and winery and so he set up in Itata near the ocean, 500 kms south of Santiago, the capital of Chile. And this gem, the fruit sourced from 120 year old vines planted at 300 m above sea level, is one of the results. The wine has spent one year in untoasted foudre and then spent 8 months in bottle before release. Time well spent!

* Pais is a red grape variety of great historical importance. According to Wine-Searcher.com it was the first Vitis Vinifera grape variety to be exported from the old world to the new world in the 16th century.

Clos des Fous “Pour Ma Geule” Itata Chile 2016, 14%, €19.99

Blackrock Cellar, Grapevine, Green Man Wines, Martins , The Corkscrew and www.wineolnline.ie

Mid Ruby is the colour of this Itata blend (of País, Carignan and mostly Cinsault). It boasts a nose full of red berries, some spice too. There is quite an arresting reveal on the palate, berries and cherries, generous and silky, and there’s a lively acidity in the mix, a harmonious wine, with fine tannins too in the long finish. Very Highly Recommended

The name is a cheeky French expression, to describe the stash of wine the producer is keeping to drink himself (for my gob and my gob only!).  Quite a few French words on the  label including assemblage (blend).

Clos des Fous is about four friends, four crazy guys that have chosen to ignore the experts about where to plant vineyards and to trust their own instincts. But don’t worry, the four are experts themselves, experts with a mission. The four are winemaker Pedro Parra (see his wine above), François Massoc (extensive experience in Burgundy), winemaker Paco Leyton (Altos las Hormigas, Puculan) and businessman Albert Cussen (strengths in admin and finance). 

They are about growing wines over “the Chilean extreme, fresh and unpredictable places, looking for natural balance”. “This is a unique and groundbreaking project based on a delicate and novel terroir selection. Following the Burgundy philosophy, our focus is to achieve wines with minimal intervention, letting the terroir express itself.” 

Clos des Fous (the madmen’s vineyard) is highly praised in Wines of South America: “Their approach produces wines that distinctively express their terroir, made with organic fruit and using techniques that are so minimalist that the wines are vinified without ‘safety nets such as fining or filtering'.”

Looks like they have a good thing going here at Clos Des Fous. Already they have built up quite a portfolio - Pinot Noir is their signature wine -  and you can expect more as they build on Pais, Cinsault, and Carignan. There is granite here so perhaps Gamay and Grenache will be added to the list!

Two to Note from Chile's Cachapoal Valley. And an Irish connection.

Bernardo (via Wikipedia)

Two to Note from Chile's Cachapoal Valley. And an Irish connection.

Clos des Fous and Chateau Los Boldos are two of the leading producers in the Rapel Valley, south of Santiago in Chile. The area, with its dry warm climate, is regarded as ideal for growing Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The Rapel has two main valleys, the Cachapoal and the better known Colchaqua.

Cachapoal Province is one of three provinces of the central Chilean region of Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region. Bernardo (left), who played a leading role in the liberation fight, became the first Head of State of Chile in 1818. And yes, there was of course an Irish background. The O'Higgins family lost their lands under the English Crown in the 17th century and left to exile in Spain from where some of them made their way to Chile.

Chateau Los Boldos “Tradition Réserve” Carmenere 2016, Cachapoal (Chile), 13.5%, €15.99 JJ O’Driscoll’s, Wines Online

Los Boldos grow all their own fruit, in vineyards that benefit from a Mediterranean climate, so control everything from grape to bottle. Sixty per cent spends six months in French and American oak “to soften tannins and add complexity”.

Quite a deep red. There are rich cherry aromas, a promise of good things to come. And come they do on the palate, delicious sweet fruit flavours and spice, a lush mouthfeel thanks to its rounded texture. Very appealing overall and Very Highly Recommended. Well priced also.

By the way, Los Boldos also do other single varietals in the “Tradition Réserve” series including Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Worth seeking out, I reckon. The emphasis in this French pioneered now Portuguese owned winery is on higher-end wines from their old vines. Its signature wines are the Grand Cru.

Clos des Fous Chardonnay, Locura 1 Terroir de los Andes Chile 2015, 14%, €23.99 JJ O’Driscoll Cork, Wine Online

Quite a mission statement from Cussen, Leyton, Massoc and Parra, the quartet behind this wine: “This is an unique and groundbreaking project based on a delicate and novel terroir selection. Following the Burgundy philosophy, our focus is to achieve wines with minimal intervention letting the terroir express itself.”

A few details on the wine itself. Colour is a very light straw. Fairly intense aromas (white fruits), legs slow. Excellent buttery mouthfeel, rich and full in the mouth, long and satisfying mineral finish. The four seem to have indeed followed the Burgundian way here, seem to have succeeded and the verdict is Very Highly Recommended.

This unoaked Chardonnay is listed as one of the top ten chardonnay in South America by Wines of South America. They also call Pedro Parra, one of the four owners, a “terroir whisperer”. 

Their terroir approach plus their organic fruit and minimalist techniques are lauded, “no safety nets” such as fining or filtering. The wines, including this one, have many admirers, among them Jancis Robinson here. 

Wondering about the name of the wine? Clos des Fous means enclosure of the madmen while Locura also hints at a crazy condition. Enjoy!