2019 Clos Apalta
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Tasting notes
Clos Apalta is made from naturally low-yielding, ungrafted, dry-grown vines, some of which were planted as early as 1915. Painstakingly destemmed by hand, this is a no-expense-spared cuvée. On tasting, the wine has great aromatic breadth – from the classic peppery, herbal lift synonymous with Carménère, to blackcurrant pastille, camphor and lifted tea notes. On the palate there is lovely clarity of fruit, with pure blackberry flavours that sustains right through to the long finish. The tannins are concentrated but very fine, elegantly building structure on the palate. Two yearse in top-quality oak has brought a lovely layering of puckering tannins and sweet spice, adding complexity. This is a big, powerful wine but the 15% alcohol is beautifully integrated.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Tom Parker MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
70% Carmenère, 18% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot. Aged for 24 months in French oak (90% new). Glossy, fresh black-cherry fruit. Hiding its potential beneath its upfront, high-fidelity fruit. Stunning precision, and while it is tempting to drink it now, while that primary fruit offsets the firmness of the structure, it is also clearly foetal in terms of complexity. (RH)
The 2019 Clos Apalta was produced with a blend of 70% Carmenere, 18% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, which is extremely high in Carmenere and low in Cabernet Sauvignon, in a ripe and warm year. It fermented with indigenous yeasts for four to five weeks, with manual punch down of the cap, 67% in 7,500-liter French oak vats and 33% in new French oak barrels, followed by malolactic in new French oak barrels. The élevage was 24 months in 90% new barrels and 10% second-use. The wine is powerful, big and ripe, with 15% alcohol and a pH of 3.57. It's creamy and juicy, with very high ripeness and a notable absence of herbal notes; it's oaky, smoky and decadent, coming through as luxurious, round, lush and velvety. It's full-bodied and has abundant, small and powdery tannins. 103,944 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2021.
Coming from the Colchagua Valley region of Chile, the 2019 Clos Apalta is based on 70% Carménère, 18% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot that saw an extended maceration and aging in 90% new French oak. It's a legit brilliant wine, sporting a dense purple hue as well as complex notes of ripe black fruits, ripe herbs, graphite, spice box, and perfectly integrated oak. It has a solid herbal edge and is medium to full-bodied on the palate, with silky tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It benefits from a short decant and I suspect will continue drinking nicely over the following 10-15 years. This is world class.
About the producer
Chile’s Clos Apalta is arguably South America’s most successful estate, garnering praise from the world’s leading wine critics and connoisseurs. The 2005 vintage was named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year – the only South American wine to do so – and the wines continue to impress.