Clos Apalta 2015 Premium Chilean Wine Review

Clos Apalta was established in 1994 by Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband, Cyril de Bournet, whose family also owns Casa Lapastolle & Grand Marnier. It is now managed since 2013 by Charles Henri de Bournet Marnier Lapostolle

Clos Apalta has a distinct micro-climate which is semi-Mediterranean (winter rains and a long, dry summer). This allows the grapes to reach optimum maturity. The extreme thermal oscillation favors the accumulation of anthocyanins which creates the deep, rich color of the wines.

The winery is located in Colchagua and is about 60 hectares in area. The oldest plots were planted between 1915 and 1920; the stocks were imported from France at the end of the 19th century. The winery has 21 vats for fermentation and blending the grapes. The grapes are 100% hand de-stemmed and 100% native yeast are used. The wine is aged in new French oak barrels for 26 months. The wine is not fined, cold stabilized or filtered.

For the 2015 vintage, the blend is 46% Carmenere, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.

Carmenère (pronounced Carmen nair) is a French grape variety, from Bordeaux, which was destroyed in France by a Phylloxera plague in the second half of the 19th century. However, wine growers in Chile had imported vines from France before the plague and for most of the 20th century they were thought to be a clone of Merlot, with which Carmenère shares many characteristics. Only since 1998 can Chilean wines officially be labeled Carmenère (prior to that, many wines described as Merlot were actually Carmenère). Now Chile is almost the only source of wines made from Carmenere grapes. Carmener is a late ripening grape and needs a long growing season, making it very suitable growning in Colchagua. Carmenère wines are medium to full bodied with high tannins and relatively low acidity. Like Merlot, it has a velvet texture accompanied by black fruit flavors of blackberry, black cherry and plum, with spicy notes of clove and black pepper. If the grapes are not fully ripe, the wine can have unpleasant vegetal notes.

For more information about the winery, please see their website at https://www.closapalta.com/