Clos de Luz

Clos de Luz is a boutique family-owned winery situated in Chile’s Almahue Valley and today managed by Gabriel Edwards. The estate has been in the family since 1892, when it was purchased by Gabriel’s great-grandfather, while the vineyards were planted in 1945 by his grandmother, Luz, after whom the winery is named. Among the estate’s holdings are some of the world’s oldest Carménère vines, with the fruit historically sold to Casa Lapostolle for more than two decades before Gabriel returned to Chile to establish the family’s own label.

Located around 70 miles southeast of Santiago, the Almahue Valley enjoys cooling afternoon breezes that extend the ripening period, helping the grapes develop intense flavours while retaining freshness and natural acidity. The vineyards are entirely ungrafted and planted “franc de pied,” possible due to Chile’s natural isolation from phylloxera, contributing distinctive character and purity to the wines. The estate also relies exclusively on massal selection from old vineyards rather than modern clonal material, preserving genetic diversity and adding complexity to the final blends.

Traditional and sustainable vineyard practices remain central to the estate philosophy. The old vines are cultivated by horse ploughing and maintained largely by hand, while cover crops are used during winter to naturally enrich and revitalise the soils. Gabriel Edwards focuses on producing wines defined by elegance, balance and freshness, harvesting earlier than many neighbouring producers while avoiding the herbaceous qualities sometimes associated with Carménère.

Buy Clos de Luz wine below.