Chile · Central Valley

Clos des fous

Clos des Fous is a Chilean producer based in Cauquenes, Maule, with vineyards from Malleco to the Aconcagua Coast and a range spanning Pinot Noir, Cinsault, País, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Riesling.

The producer

Clos des Fous began in 2008 when soil scientist Pedro Parra, Burgundy-trained winemaker François Massoc, vineyard manager Paco Leyton and mentor Albert Cussen joined forces. The winery is in Cauquenes, Maule, while its vineyards reach Malleco, Guarilihue, Alto Cachapoal and the Aconcagua Coast. That spread gives the range several Chilean origins, from Latuffa's six hectares of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling in Malleco to Pucalan, a four-hectare coastal vineyard designed and planted by Parra in 2007, and Grillos Cantores, a 22-hectare Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in Alto Cachapoal.

Paco Leyton is now the sole proprietor and works with Felipe Cartes, an agronomist and enologist from Universidad de Chile who has been the winemaker since 2020. Cartes uses native-yeast fermentations, long fermentations, soft pressing, lees ageing and limited pumping. Locura 1 2023 shows those choices clearly: entirely Chardonnay from Malleco, aged for nine months on lees in stainless steel, with no malolactic fermentation and no oak. It has medium body, concrete fruit, a lees-shaped palate, defined acidity and a clean finish.

Known for

Site-led Chilean wines from widely separated vineyard regions, including dry-farmed Latuffa in Malleco, Parra-designed Pucalan on the Aconcagua Coast, and Grillos Cantores Cabernet Sauvignon in Alto Cachapoal.

Notable facts

The story

The Neglected Experimental Vineyard

Latuffa in Malleco began as a government experimental vineyard, then was left neglected. Clos des Fous later took over its management, bringing the six-hectare site back into working use. The vineyard was planted in 2010 with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. Its farming now has two stated features: dry farming and biodynamic practice. The episode begins with a government planting, passes through a period without care, and ends with the same vineyard under a new team, carrying three varieties in its rows. Latuffa remains a named Malleco vineyard in the Clos des Fous range.

The Neglected Experimental Vineyard

Latuffa in Malleco began as a government experimental vineyard, then was left neglected. Clos des Fous later took over its management, bringing the six-hectare site back into working use. The vineyard was planted in 2010 with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. Its farming now has two stated features: dry farming and biodynamic practice. The episode begins with a government planting, passes through a period without care, and ends with the same vineyard under a new team, carrying three varieties in its rows. Latuffa remains a named Malleco vineyard in the Clos des Fous range.

From the atlas

Clos des Fous

At A Glance

Clos des Fous is a Chilean producer founded in 2008 and based at a winery in Cauquenes, Maule. Its vineyards extend across Malleco, Guarilihue, Alto Cachapoal and the Aconcagua Coast, so the range is built from separated Chilean places rather than one continuous estate. Pinot Noir, Cinsault, País, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Riesling cover red, white and lighter-bodied styles. Locura 1 2023, an entirely Chardonnay wine from Malleco, gives the clearest bottle-level view of the producer's grape, site and cellar choices.

The Producer

Four people created Clos des Fous: soil scientist Pedro Parra, Burgundy-trained winemaker François Massoc, vineyard manager Paco Leyton, and mentor and backer Albert Cussen. Parra and Massoc met while studying wine in Burgundy, then joined Leyton and Cussen in a project that treated Chile's geography as a reason to search harder. The winery's Maule address is only the starting point.

The founders wanted to challenge the idea that Chilean wine had to be industrial, green or overripe. They pursued vineyards farther south, nearer the coast and higher in the Andes, then used minimal winery intervention to keep grape and place visible in the bottle. Paco Leyton is now the sole proprietor, working with Felipe Cartes, an agronomist and enologist from Universidad de Chile who has been the winemaker since 2020.

Place

Cauquenes in Maule is the cellar base, while the vineyard network reaches four distinct parts of Chile. Malleco supplies a cool southern setting for Latuffa and for Locura 1 Chardonnay. The Aconcagua Coast supplies Pucalan, a four-hectare vineyard designed and planted by Parra in 2007. Alto Cachapoal supplies Grillos Cantores, a 22-hectare Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard held by Clos des Fous since 2010. Guarilihue is also part of the producer's vineyard network, although the packet does not assign a specific grape or bottle to it.

The geographic spread changes how the range is read. The winery name points to Maule, but a bottle can carry a vineyard origin far from the cellar. Locura 1 is therefore a Malleco Chardonnay with Chilean provenance, not a generic Maule white.

Soil And Site

Latuffa is a six-hectare vineyard in Malleco, planted in 2010 with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. It is dry-farmed and biodynamic, giving the site a documented farming character as well as a geographic one. Its earlier life was unusual: the vineyard began as a government experimental planting and was later neglected before Clos des Fous took over its management.

Pucalan covers four hectares on the Aconcagua Coast and was designed and planted by Pedro Parra in 2007. Grillos Cantores covers 22 hectares in Alto Cachapoal and is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. These named places give the range physical anchors, while the documented facts remain specific to each vineyard.

Story

Clos des Fous began with a deliberate disagreement about what Chilean wine could be. In 2008, Parra's soil work, Massoc's Burgundy training, Leyton's vineyard management and Cussen's backing came together around a search for sites that could challenge familiar expectations. The founders' decision to look south, coastward and into the Andes was considered eccentric enough to inspire the name Clos des Fous.

The estate has since moved into a new working arrangement. Paco Leyton is the sole proprietor, and Felipe Cartes now directs the cellar. Cartes brings agronomy and enology to a house whose original idea remains practical: use varied vineyard origins and limited cellar handling to let the bottles differ because the places and grapes differ.

Vineyards And Cellar

Latuffa is dry-farmed and biodynamic, and its planting of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling gives one vineyard several roles within the range. Pucalan's design by Parra adds another kind of producer choice, beginning with the way the coastal site was established. Grillos Cantores gives Cabernet Sauvignon a named Alto Cachapoal address and a substantial vineyard base.

In the cellar, Cartes uses native-yeast fermentations, long fermentations, soft pressings, lees ageing and minimal pumping. Native yeast and long fermentation allow the wine to develop over time, while soft pressing limits harsh extraction. Lees ageing adds time and contact after fermentation, and minimal pumping reduces movement through the cellar. The methods keep the handling gentle enough for vineyard and grape differences to remain legible.

Wines

The range moves through Pinot Noir, Cinsault and País on the red and lighter-bodied side, Cabernet Sauvignon through Grillos Cantores, and Chardonnay and Riesling among the whites. Latuffa links three varieties to one six-hectare Malleco vineyard, while Pucalan and Grillos Cantores give the range named coastal and Alto Cachapoal points.

Locura 1 2023 supplies the most developed wine profile in the documented range. It is entirely Chardonnay from Malleco, with medium body, concrete fruit, nine months on lees in stainless steel, no oak ageing and deliberately non-malolactic handling. Lees contact adds palate texture without an oak frame. Stainless steel preserves the cellar's neutral setting, while the absence of malolactic fermentation leaves a firmer acid line. Body, fruit, lees, acidity and oak absence all become part of the bottle's explanation.

In The Glass

Locura 1 opens with concrete fruit, then moves into a medium-bodied palate shaped by nine months on lees. The lees ageing supplies a fuller middle, while stainless steel keeps oak flavour out of the wine. Non-malolactic handling leaves acidity present through the mouth, giving the fruit a defined line instead of a soft, buttery finish.

Across the wider range, the glass changes with the grape and vineyard origin: Pinot Noir, Cinsault, País and Cabernet Sauvignon occupy different red positions, while Chardonnay and Riesling carry the white side. The producer's cellar methods provide a common thread through native fermentation, soft pressing, limited pumping and lees contact, but the bottle still begins with its named grape and place.

A Bottle To Understand It

Locura 1 2023 is the right first bottle because its details can be followed from label to finish. It is entirely Chardonnay from Malleco, handled without malolactic fermentation, aged for nine months on lees in stainless steel and kept away from oak. In the glass, it offers medium body, concrete fruit, a lees-shaped palate, a firm acid line and no oak character. One bottle holds together the producer's southern vineyard reach, its preference for Chardonnay from a defined site and its quiet cellar handling.

Anecdote

Latuffa began as a government experimental vineyard in Malleco. After the planting was neglected, Clos des Fous took over its management. The six-hectare site was planted in 2010 with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling, and the vineyard is dry-farmed and biodynamic under its current management. The episode has a clear sequence: a public experiment, a period without care, then a vineyard returned to working use by a new team. Latuffa remains a six-hectare Malleco vineyard with those three varieties in its rows.

Final Word

Clos des Fous is easiest to understand by reading place and grape together. Cauquenes is the winery, while Malleco, the Aconcagua Coast and Alto Cachapoal provide named vineyard settings within the range. The bottles then show what happens when those origins meet Pinot Noir, País, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay or Riesling and a cellar built around native fermentation, soft pressing, lees ageing and limited pumping.

Sources

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