2010 Clos Apalta

Moving back to the more classical line, the 2010 Clos Apalta comes from a cold spring which resulted in a late harvest. The year that was definitively marked by a strong earthquake in Chile (February 27, just before the harvest). The wine is the result of the selection of the best lots after fermenting 200,000 kilograms of hand-destemmed grapes in the state of the art winery, where everything is moved by gravity. The base is always two thirds Carmenere complemented by Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, whose proportions might vary with each vintage. It has some leather aromas along with notes of licorice, tempera paint and Chinese ink, scents of black and red fruit underneath a thick layer of spices and smoke aromas. The palate is full-bodied, with good freshness and a patina of grainy, chalky tannins that give it a little drying sensation. One for the long run, let’s hope the animal character does not develop too much in bottle. Drink 2016-2025. I visited the impressive Lapostolle winery and vineyards on a warm day in Colchagua where I met the charming Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, who everybody calls simply “Madam.” The impressive six-level winery, built in an elliptic shape, is pure state of the art. The vineyards are planted at 6,660 vines per plant, which is the density of the old plantings from the 1920s. They started in 1995 and planted the same density in 1996. They took off with biodynamics in 2004, and converted 100% in 2006. Since 2011, they have been fully Demeter certified. Michel Rolland is the consultant here, mainly for the blends, not much for viticulture. The winery for Clos Apalta didn’t suffer any damage from the 2010 earthquake, but the other winery had big losses, so the modern construction showed extremely solid. I tasted extensively there, especially the top-of-the-range Clos Apalta, and while the 2011 showed fresher and more balanced than previous vintages, I often found over-aggressive wines with plenty of tannins that feel foursquare with years in bottle and don’t seem to develop much complexity or finesse. It’s as if the yields were perhaps too low or the wines had been too extracted. Accidentally, I had a Mourvedre and a Petit Verdot during a dinner that were a revelation, and I found the wines to be much fresher and better balanced. I asked for samples of these wines to taste, because I thought they were interesting and different. They are part of a small line of specialty wines they call Lapostolle Collection where, to be honest, I found the most exciting and drinkable wines from Lapostolle. Total production is around 200,000 cases of 12 bottles. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900, www.terlatowines.com