Clos Apalta 2018

Product info about Clos Apalta 2018

Clos Apalta 2018 is a red wine from Chile's Apalta Valley, described by the producer as a Bordeaux Blend. Carmenère takes the lead in the 2018 blend, supported by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, giving the wine a distinctly Chilean identity while keeping the structure and intention of a carefully composed blend.

The vineyard lies in El Cóndor, within the Colchagua Valley, on well-drained soils influenced by granite, stones and varied alluvial and colluvial material. The producer states organic certification by Ceres and biodynamic certification by Demeter. Apalta's setting, with the Tinguiririca River and the surrounding hills of the Coastal Cordillera, is described by the estate as helping slow ripening and preserve fruit and natural acidity.

The 2018 vintage was marked by healthy grapes, a cool March and a dry autumn, allowing later-ripening varieties to be harvested at maturity. In the cellar, the wine underwent a 4 to 5 week maceration with manual pigeage, fermentation partly in French oak vats and partly in new French oak barrels, followed by 25 months in French oak. It was bottled without fining, cold stabilisation or filtration.

At Drankenshop Broekmans, this is the kind of Chilean red that stands out through its combination of place, careful cellar work and the position of Clos Apalta as the icon wine of Domaines Bournet-Lapostolle in Chile. The strong critical recognition for this vintage, including 98 points from James Suckling and 96 points from Wine Advocate, sits naturally within that reputation. With only the last bottles remaining, the 2018 vintage is one to consider with some deliberation.

Clos Apalta 2018 shows a deep, inky purple-red colour with dark blue edges. The aromatic profile brings together red and black fruit, plum and berry fruit with cedar, tobacco, dried flowers and a well-defined spice register of green peppercorn, black pepper, clove and cinnamon.

On the palate, the wine is described as medium to full to full-bodied, with concentration, freshness and elegant to velvety tannins. French oak ageing comes through as cedar, toast and spiced wood tones, while graphite, tea leaf, dried herbs and mineral notes add further definition. The finish is long, supported by a rounded mid-palate.