Pedro Parra was born in Concepcion, southern Chile in 1969, literally and figuratively far removed from  the small circle of Chile's powerful cultural elite in Santiago who dominate wine - and everything else - in the country.  A jazz lover as a teenager, he dreamt of being a sax player in Paris. In the end he took a different path, studying precision agriculture at Montpellier and obtaining a PhD from the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon.  His special skill, unique in the world of wine, is his ability to 'taste rocks', combining a thorough knowledge of soils, geology, geomorphology, climate, viticulture, and oenology with a highly refined palate, honed by years of working and tasting in Burgundy.  No one in the history of wine has spent more time studying 'calicatas' (the pits he digs in vineyards - he has dug an astonishing 22,000 in his relatively brief career); no one has thought more deeply about the connections between terroir and the structure, aroma, and flavour of wine,  or contributed more to the new science of precision viticulture. His ability to predict the characteristics of yet unmade wine based on his observations of the depth, complexity, and porosity of soil in various parts of a vineyard is simply mind boggling.

Inexorably rising through Decanter's Top 50 Power List since 2009, Pedro Parra has become one of the wine world's most influential people. One of only eight recognized wine terroir consultants in the world (the others are all French), if Pedro does not take credit for single-handedly bringing into being 'the New Chile', no one has contributed more than him. The list of his consultancies reads like a who's who of Chile's best and brightest wineries: Concha y Toro, Montes, Casa Lapostolle, Matetic, De Martino, Amayna, Luis Filipe Edwards, Santa Carolina, William Fevre, Errazuriz.   In Argentina, he is a partner in Altos las Hormigas in Mendosa, along with Alberto Antonini, Attilio Pagli, and Antonio Morescalchi;  with Alberto Antonini he also consults at Zuccardi and Chakana.  Pedro and Alberto also work together on projects in Uruguay, Italy, Armenia, Sonoma, Burgundy, as well as Okanagan Crush Pad in British Columbia.  In Chile Pedro has two very special personal projects:  Aristos, a collaboration with his lifelong friend Francois Massoc  - who is Chilean despite his French name, and always referred to as 'maverick winemaker Francois Massoc ' - and Vicomte Loius-Michel Liger-Belair of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair in Vosne-Romanee;  and Clos des Fous (see below).

CLOS DES FOUS

For Pedro Parra the purest expression of his passionate devotion to terroir is Clos des Fous, his collaboration with Francois Massoc, Paco Leyton, and Albert Cussen.  Although the project is based in Pedro's home region of Bio Bio, 500km south of Santiago, the focus is not limited to making wines from Bio Bio: rather the idea is to discover (or rediscover) and celebrate great unknown terroirs throughout Chile - a vast and endlessly varied country - that are full of the vibrancy, uniqueness, and untapped potential that exists in Bio Bio. Clos des Fous is an immensely exciting project, focused on the revitalization of very old dry farmed vineyards and the planting of new vineyards in the most dramatic and challenging conditions imaginable. This is as cutting edge as it gets anywhere in the world, combining extreme viticulture, organic and biodynamic farming, and non-interventionist winemaking to reveal the true potential of the country Hugh Johnson has called 'the most blessed in the world' for winegrowing.  Clos des Fous is the vanguard of the New Chile, with old-vine heritage varieties (including malbec, pais, carignan, and cinsault) from an incredible range of unknown terroirs, from Itata and Malleco to Cauquenas and Alto Cachapoal. 

The Chardonnay presented here is tremendous value for money. It is sourced from two very special vineyards in Alto Cachapoal. One is the highest altitude chardonnay vineyard in Chile, with deep sand and clay over volcanic rock; the other is a from a gravelly, limestone rich alluvial river bed.  The high altitude coupled with the vineyards' unique soils fulfill Pedro's maxim "I won't make wine if there's no rock in the vineyard". Lovers of classic jazz will appreciate the label too, designed by Pedro himself - a tribute to the great 1950's Blue Note LPs that have always been an inspiration to him.