2017 Le Petit Clos Apalta Red Blend Chile

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  • Multiple 93+ Scores Since 2014
  • Consulting Winemaker Michel Rolland
  • Top Chilean Wine
  • Pre-Order Item
  • Free Shipping on 6 or More Bottles

About the Wine

Clos Apalta was established in 1994 when Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, whose family founded Grand Marnier, first arrived in Chile’s Colchagua Valley. Along with her husband Cyril de Bournet, they quickly realized its potential for producing world-class wines. Alexandra brought exceptional French winemaking practices to Chile and pioneered the development of fine quality wines from the region. Today it is Charles de Bournet Marnier Lapostolle, seventh generation of the family, who holds the reins of the Winery. Joining him are Jacques Begarie, Technical Director & Winemaker, and the famous winemaker Michel Rolland, who is personally involved in the whole production of Clos Apalta. Together, the trio produces world-class wines from some of Chile's best vineyards and has received three 100 point scores!

Apalta is located about 100 miles South West of Santiago in the Colchagua Valley. The Vineyard is situated on a North to South exposure, which is quite rare in Chile. The Tinguiririca river rests on one side and the hills from the Coastal Cordillera surround the vineyard like a horseshoe on the other. They are both integral in forming this unique terroir. This geography is responsible for the conditions that ensure balance for and a slow ripening for the grapes. At sunrise and sunset, the Cordillera block the sun’s rays, limiting the vines exposure to intense sunshine and the river has a cooling influence on the climate. The vineyard is both certified Organic and Biodynamic.

Aging: 8 Months in French Oak

Tasting Notes: Red Wine. 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Carmenere, 9% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep and intense red color with purple and cherry edges. Intense fruit expression with black fruit such as maqui berry and cassis well mixed with red fruit such as cherry and plums. Slightly spiced with anise and cedar notes. Delicate fresh violets fragrance. Big structure and good volume, balance with a remarkable acidity

*Note: This is a pre-order item expected to arrive in December 2020.

Reviews

This is so delicious with blackcurrants, spice, sweet tobacco, lavender, and roses. Full-bodied, tight, and very polished with gorgeous texture and finesse. Shows tannin tension at the end. A blend of mostly cabernet sauvignon, the rest cabernet franc. Better after 2022.  ~96 James Suckling

The second wine, in the Bordeaux sense, the 2017 Le Petit Clos has a different blend from the grand vin, in this case, 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Carmenere, 9% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot and is quite different every year. It fermented in 7,500-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts and a four- to five-week maceration followed by malolactic in new barriques. It matured in new French barriques for six months and spent the next 16 months in first, second, and third use French oak barrels. I found a lot less influence from the oak here than in the "grand vin" and a more classical profile with dominance of the Cabernet Sauvignon—ripe without excess, powerful and concentrated but with very good balance. It's quite approachable even when it feels quite youthful; the tannins are round, and the wine is neat and velvety with some creaminess. It has an elegant profile within the powerful character of the vintage. It surpassed my expectations, and I find it every bit as good as the 2016. 72,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2019. This has only been produced since 2014. ~93+ Robert Parker

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