96
James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com
"A wonderfully vivid red with complex aromas of rose petal, black currant, blackberry, black pepper and sandalwood. Full-bodied, yet ultra-refined. Silky textured tannins. Gorgeous finish. So much intense fruit with spice, currant and chocolate. A blend of carmenere, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. All grapes are biodynamically grown. Better in 2019."
94 Wine Enthusiast
"Cellar Selection. Lusty notes of coconut, charcoal, vanilla and herbs grace core blackberry and cassis aromas. This is massive and widespread on the palate, but the key to its success is impeccable balance. Toasty, minty flavors of blackberry and cassis are chocolaty and lightly herbal, while the finish blends lushness, power, heft and smoky, herbal flavors that go on and on. Drink this Carmenère-led blend through 2024."
93 Wine Spectator
"A dense, ripe and powerful style, with concentrated flavors of dark plum, blackberry and chocolate. Very plush and creamy midpalate, with a rich finish loaded with espresso notes, along with medium-grained tannins. Carmenère, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2020. Tasted twice, with consistent notes."
"Apalta has a special meso-climate that is different from the rest of Colchagua
Valley. Its climate could be described as semi-dry Mediterranean; with a winter only
rainy season and a long dry summer season. We benefit from a wide temperature fluctuation between night and day;
which is a key quality factor for color and tannins in reds. Slow maturation allows
the grapes to reach their ideal maturity with high concentration and character,
preserving the fruit and high levels of natural acidity, ensuring a long ageing
potential.
Apalta is located at 170 Kilometers South West from 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 our vines 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.
There is much diversity in the soil, and our Clos Apalta comes from colluvial
granitic soils, lightly textured with layers of clay.
Our winemaking philosophy is to reflect the terroir from Apalta by crafting a wine
based in Carmenère. A truly hand crafted wine, we nurture our vines and attend to
every detail to preserve the potential of the grapes. We hand harvest the fruit in
small cases of 14 kilos. The grapes are 100% hand de-stemmed in our Clos Apalta
Winery so we maintain complete control of the quality. We fill our French oak vats
by gravity. Then nature does its work, allowing native yeasts that slowly ferment
the must into wine with temperature control less than 28° C. Macerations lasted for
about 4-5 weeks and during all that period we did manual punch downs to extract
enough compounds from skins to get the desired structure and concentration." -Winery
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