Clos de Luz Agreste Rapel Valley 2020

Now, this is cool! Our longtime Chilean favorites at Clos de Luz are back – this time with an amazing find – a parcel of 100+-year-old, own-rooted, país (known as the mission grape here) for only $17.95!

Clos de Luz is a historic Chilean winery, noted for their high-quality and “own rooted” vineyards planted on their estate as far back as 1945, about 40 miles from the ocean and about 28 miles from the base of the Andes, in a beautiful small valley and part of the larger appellation Rapel Valley. But in addition to their brilliant estate carmenere and cabernet sauvignon – they also engage in some vineyard hunting. They stumbled across this find down a countryside ravine next to an old adobe house – some 100+-year-old país interplanted with some muscatel vines. No irrigation, no pesticides, no problem! The vines had survived and remained quite healthy and vigorous, so Gabriel made the decision to harvest!

This is only the second vintage of this wine and wow, is it a treat! Low alcohol, bright acidity, intensely floral, and spicy, with crunchy red berries and a perfect complement of wild rusticity – this is a wine to get the brain percolating, and one sure to be the star of conversation at any wine-centric gathering! Hand harvested, with a native yeast fermentation, followed by a brief aging of 8-10 months in 225-liter barrels. No new oak keeps everything supremely fresh and titillating, and with only 125 cases (!) made – it's a wonder we get any of this at all!

PAIRING IDEAS: I love exploring the cuisines of all these amazing wine regions… for Chile, I stumbled across a glorious dish called Chorrillana. Basically, it's a platter of crispy french fries, topped with a mound of chopped beef, fried onions, and fried eggs. It’s intense… but also intensely delish and perfect to keep you on your feet for a night of drinking the region’s amazing wines!