The first is to remember the obvious; that is to say, the most important thing to get a great wine is to start with a grape of quality. Even though, fashion is in the Terroir, one must remember that it is an important factor, but not enough by itself. Neither is that we must forget the handling of the vineyard that also depends on many factors such as the pruning, the irrigation handling of the foliage…
With that being established, for a given variety and for the objective of a given wine, Terroir is fundamental. Precisely, for this reason Clos Andino, according to its criteria, selected the best Terroirs in Chile, with the purpose of looking for its own style of wine for each variety that Clos Andino suggests. For this same reason, in Clos Andino we always associate the Terroir with the variety in the label (“Le Carménère from Peumo” for example) but mainly in the wine and the vineyard.
These Terroirs are featured by its climate, soil and an adequate handling of the vineyard for a given variety, which involves a meticulous search for each variety.
The Sauvignon Blanc from Curicó: Starting with the Sauvignon Blanc, that was the last vine of the Clos Andino range; the election was Curicó area, where Victoria and Jose live. That is not the only reason, because here we are looking for cold temperatures and deep soils in general. The more famous Terroirs in Chile for the Sauvignon Blanc vine are Casablanca (in general, very tropical notes) and Leyda (notes marked by asparagus); thus; we wanted to propose something more aligned with the balanced style of Clos Andino, that goes to more mineral and citric notes. This happens in the vineyards of Morza, in Teno area (Teno is colder than Curico), close to The Andes. Soils are deep and balanced, so this allows the vines its full and progressive maturity.
The Chardonnay from Casablanca: The first white wines of Chile with international quality came from Casablanca. Later, it evolved into a type of wine with a lot of wood or diluted. Since some 10 years, Casablanca produces again great Chardonnay, simply because it has the Terroir for this type of vine. Its cool temperatures due to its proximity with the sea, explain in a big extent, the aromatic profile of the wines. However, at the same time, that same cool climate, sometimes it causes frosts in spring or also rains; and that is a problem. Due that, viticulture has to have a lot of quality and accuracy, with a low performance.
The Carménère from Peumo: As “the” typical Chilean variety, the Carménère became established as a wine variety of international class, with a great typicality. Great part of these wines comes from the area of Peumo, due to its warm climate, avoiding the defect of the greenness appearing sometimes when the vineyard is not in the adequate terroir. It is also necessary to have deep soils with available water close to the roots; and in the case of Clos Andino, a location in a little valley a bit cooler, avoiding the maturity which provides it that elegant balance. Without that balance, it cannot be a great wine.
The Cabernet Sauvignon from Alto Cachapoal: For a long time, Chile has been known in the world for the great quality of its Cabernet Sauvignon. This is so, that is difficult to find a bad Terroir for Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile. Clos Andino tried in many regions, but the first region where it produced its first wine (in 2006) Alto Cachapoal, the selected area for our Cabernet Sauvignon. The profile of the Cabernet is exactly the one that defines the style of Clos Andino wines. These are balanced, with fresh notes of mint, cassis and cherry that features the great Cabernet in the world; with a present but not excessive structure. Most of it is due to the climate close to the mountains and the poor soils wanted by Cabernet Sauvignon. There must be an effect a bit mysterious precisely that of the “Effet Terroir” as it is said in France and without any scientific explanation nowadays. So, this makes Alto Cachapoal has these features, but they disappear in the valleys located north or south of that zone, even close to the mountains.
