Riesling is finally having its moment in the sun in Chile and this Riesling from the cooler climate of Malleco shows just how true to character Chilean Riesling can be. Coming from the excellent team at the biodynamic vineyard Clos des Fous, it has all the trademarks of a great Riesling (petrol notes and citrus) with the killer acidity you can expect from Malleco.
Check out their Chardonnay from Malleco too.
Dulcinea comes from Burgundy-trained Francois Massoc and his Clos of Madmen (Clos des Fous) who have made it their mission to make wines in some of the more interesting wine regions of Chile, hunting for the right terroir to make the right wine.
Making wine in the cooler region of Malleco would once have been seen as folly but results as accomplished as this biodynamic Chardonnay prove that Malleco is worth its salt. Refreshing acidity and savoury mineral notes provide the cool baseline to the honey, straw and orchard fruit aromas that ride on top.
The terroir-driven wines of Clos de Fous may be named ‘Clos of Fools’ but this is actually a very smart set up focusing on making distinctive wines on some of Chile’s most interesting vineyard soils. The Clos des Fous winery is in Maule but the wines are made from grapes sourced in several different terroirs including Malleco, Itata, Bio Bio, Aconcagua Costa and Cachapoal. Soil specialist Pedro Parra and Burgundy-trained winemaker François Massoc are behind the location hunting for Clos des Fous, along with other founders Albert Cussen and Paco Leyton, and winemaker Felipe Cartes.
Clos des Fous started in 2009 by partners Francois Massoc, Pedro Parra, Albert Cussen and Paco Leyton. The four of them wanted to show the world the great diversity of soils and climate that exists in Chile and try to change the idea that Chilean wine was industrial and standardized.
They decided to go against what was customary (i.e. making wine in warm and sunny regions) and looked for cooler and rainy places in the south of Chile, on the Andes Mountains, and at higher altitudes. Today they practice dry-farming and make wine from some of the oldest vines in Chile as well as pioneering new regions.
They got the name “Fous” because they were called “crazy” and were told that grapes would not ripen on such extreme terroir.
Clos des Fous