Clos Apalta 1997

Professional Ratings

• 96 James Suckling
  This is the first vintage of this wine and shows phenomenal depth and power. Full body, chewy and focused. Tannic yet polished. Love the chocolate and currant flavors. A blend of 95% merlot/carmenere and 5% cabernet sauvignon.
• 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  One thousand, eight hundred cases of this extraordinary wine were produced from the oldest (50 years average age) non-irrigated vines controlled by Casa Lapostolle. The blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Carmenere, aged in 100% new French oak casks, and bottled with neither fining nor filtration, is a triumph in wine making. Yields were kept to a conservative 40 hectoliters per hectare, resulting in an opaque purple-colored wine with an exquisite nose of black cherry, blackberry, and creme de cassis fruit intertwined with subtle toasty oak and lead pencil. Full-bodied, with an opulent texture, sensational concentration, and layered nuances, this wine will have 10-15 years of longevity, although its fatness and low acidity give it immediate accessibility. This superb wine is a tour de force. Not surprisingly, the consulting winemaker was Pomerol's brilliant Michel Rolland. Anticipated maturity: now-2015. This wine is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 1. This wine may appear expensive vis a vis the run of the mill juice coming out of Chile, but in today's marketplace, this effort are sensibly priced. Serious wine tasters should give it a try.
• 91 Wine Spectator
  This showstopper has all the bells and whistles: deep color, lavish oak, concentrated ripe fruit, power and harmony in a polished package. The boysenberry, chocolate and licorice flavors are voluptuous and velvety; the wine has elegance to match its power. It's hard to find Chile in its character, but easy to take pleasure in the result. Merlot, Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon.