2024 Locura 1 Malleco Valley Chardonnay, Clos des Fous

• Style: Bright, mineral-driven, unoaked
• Taste: Pineapple, green apple, white peach, saline minerality
• Food: Grilled fish, oysters, shellfish, salads
• Occasion: Aperitivo, summer drinking, weeknight
• Serve: Chilled, 12.5% ABV, vegan-certified

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

A pale golden wine with genuine grip and fresh acidity. Ripe pineapple and green apple mingle with white peach, underpinned by a saline mineral core. Bone-dry and unoaked, aged nine months in stainless steel on fine lees without stirring, this wine preserves the bright, vibrant character that defines it—no malolactic fermentation means the natural crispness remains intact.

The Winery — Clos des Fous

Founded by four Chilean friends—viticulturist Pedro Parra, winemakers François Massoc and Paco Leyton, and Albert Cussen—Clos des Fous earned its name, 'crazy men' in French, for deliberately crossing traditional vineyard boundaries to source grapes from extreme southern sites others overlooked. The Latuffa vineyard, planted in 2010 and farmed biodynamically with dry-farming methods, sits on volcanic tuff and ash soils. The 2024 vintage, blessed with ample rain and slow ripening, has given this Chardonnay from Malleco Valley—at 38°S—the balance it deserves, where cool nights and mineral terroir force the vine to concentrate flavour into smaller yields.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

At 12.5% ABV and refreshingly food-friendly, this is the wine to reach for grilled fish, oysters, and light shellfish dishes. Its crisp, structured palate makes it equally at home as an aperitivo or at Sunday lunch. Summer drinking calls for wines with this kind of mineral snap and natural acidity. Pair with Fruity & Aromatic White Wine from Chile to explore what this country achieves when innovation meets terroir. Vegan-certified and built for food, it's a window into the most exciting emerging regions we're watching.