Clos Apalta, Colchagua Valley, Chile 2017

Clos Apalta 2017 is one of Chile’s great collector wines and a benchmark for the Apalta Valley in Colchagua. Produced from exceptionally old, ungrafted vines, the wine is a Bordeaux-inspired blend dominated by Carménère (48%), with 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. The 2017 vintage was hot and exceptionally dry, but significant temperature variation later in the season preserved freshness and allowed excellent phenolic ripening.

The wine is beautifully layered, combining redcurrant, raspberry and wild strawberry with black olive, blackcurrant, licorice, spice and subtle tobacco. Silky tannins and remarkable length give it an unusually elegant profile for such a powerful Chilean red. The wine was aged 27 months in French oak, 85% new, and was neither fined nor filtered.

" The 2017 Clos Apalta is the 20th vintage of this wine that was produced with a blend of 48% Carmenere, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot from organic and biodynamic certified vineyards on granite soils. It fermented with indigenous yeasts for four to five weeks, with manual punch-down of the cap, mostly in 7,500-liter French oak vats and 18% in new French barrique. Malolactic was in new French oak barrels, and the élevage lasted for 27 months in 85% new barrels and 15% second use. This is always a powerful, big and ripe wine that is regularly 15% alcohol, reflecting a warm and ripe place. The 2017 is no exception, perhaps a riper and more powerful wine than the 2016. It's still very young and marked by the élevage, with abundant balsamic aromas and notes from the wood—spice and smoke with an ashy touch. It seems quite marked by the character of the Carmenere. The tannins are quite round and polished, and the flavors are pungent and powerful. It's a full-bodied wine to age in in bottle and enjoy in its 10th birthday with powerful food." Wine Advocate 95