Clos des Fous Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
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Robert
Parker
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Pairs well with wild game, seared fish and chocolate.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The unusually named 2013 Grillos Cantores Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a vineyard called "singing crickets" and is an unoaked, showy, aromatic, herbal Cabernet Sauvignon from Alto Cachapoal. It matured in contact with the lees for some 18 months, but only some 10% of the volume was in oak barrels. It has an herbal, spicy and peppery profile in a way that made me think of a Bordeaux. It's medium-bodied with fine tannins and a tasty finish. Very Cabernet. 39,800 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2015.
Clos des Fous was founded in 2008 by Pedro Parra, Francois Massoc, Paco Leyton and Albert Cussen. The four friends were tired of hearing that Chilean wine was all boring, industrial, green, and overripe so they set out in search of the Dark Side of the Moon. Francois and Pedro are longtime friends, akin to brothers, and both have spent much time abroad making wine and working vineyards in Europe. Clos des Fous’ philosophy is to produce wines with tension, from grapes grown in extreme terroir, with minimal intervention in the winery. Clos des Fous owns and manages vineyards in Malleco, Guarilihue, Alto Cahapoal, and Western Aconcagua. They produce a variety of wines and work with multiple iterations of Pinot Noir, Cinsault, Pais, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Riesling at their winery in Cauquenes, Maule. Pedro Parra has a Masters degree in precision agriculture and a Ph.D. for his work with terroir. Pedro currently consults as a terroir specialist around the globe in Argentina, Oregon, Italy, France, Spain, Georgia, Croatia, and beyond working with world renowned vignerons like Jean Marc Roulot. Clos des Fous is one of Chile’s most innovative, inspiring, and authentic wineries producing some of the most exciting wines in South America.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Well-regarded for intense and exceptionally high quality red wines, the Colchagua Valley is situated in the southern part of Chile’s Rapel Valley, with many of the best vineyards lying in the foothills of the Coastal Range.
Heavy French investment and cutting-edge technology in both the vineyard and the winery has been a boon to the local viticultural industry, which already laid claim to ancient vines and a textbook Mediterranean climate.
The warm, dry growing season in the Colchagua Valley favors robust reds made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Malbec and Syrah—in fact, some of Chile’s very best are made here. A small amount of good white wine is produced from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.