Kalfu, Molu Pinot Noir, 2021

Grapes

Pinot Noir

Vintage report

Casablanca Valley's cool-climate credentials — all that Pacific fog rolling in off the Humboldt Current — make it one of Chile's most weather-sensitive regions, and 2021 gave growers plenty to think about. The season ran relatively dry overall, which helped keep disease pressure in check, though the valley's persistent morning cloud cover meant a slow, drawn-out ripening that stretched into autumn. That extended hang time is something Casablanca does well when the skies cooperate, and in 2021 they largely did, allowing grapes to build flavour incrementally without surrendering the acidity that defines the region.

The results are wines of real precision and nerve — Sauvignon Blanc in particular showing that taut, saline, citrus-driven character the valley does better than almost anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere. Chardonnay came through with good concentration and freshness in equal measure. Pinot Noir, always the trickiest of the trio here, produced some genuinely compelling examples where yields were managed carefully. These are wines drinking well now and we'd expect most to hold comfortably until 2026 to 2028, with the better Pinots and oak-aged Chardonnays worth sitting on a little longer.