LAPOSTOLLE, CLOS APALTA
COLCHAGUA, CHILE 2020
Why Buy: Can’t remember the last time a bottle of Chilean wine knocked your socks off? Well, we’ve got two that are almost certain to do just that. Old-vine Bordeaux varieties from a great 2020 vintage, sourced from some of the most extraordinary terroir in the world, and full of all the depth, length, and focus of Bordeaux at its pleasure-giving best. Oh, and one took home 99 points (and earned the #42 spot on James Suckling’s Top Wines of 2023) and the other, 95 points. That they also both deliver exceptional value? That just makes this an offer you can't refuse.
What They're Saying: James Suckling was all in on the Clos Apalta 2020, awarding 99 points and hailing it as "really refined, expressive, and layered," a "very long and juicy" wine with "real finesse." He also weighed in on the 2020 vintage of their second wine, Petit Clos, declaring it, in a 95-point rave, "beautiful ... structured and fine-grained [and] very long."
Specs: The Clos Apalta is, predominantly, Carmenere, with significant percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and trace amounts of Petit Verdot. It aged for 27 months in mostly new French oak. The Clos Apalta Le Petit Clos, meanwhile, is split almost evenly between Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a not-inconsiderable percentage of Merlot for rounding and softening.
The Story: Spread out across the Colchagua Valley, the estate's 160 hectares are, inarguably, among the finest terroir to be found in all of the New World, and year after year the wines that emerge from these soils are mind-blowing in their concentration and depth. Clos Apalta is the vision of Grand Marnier heiress Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, who, together with her husband, Cyril de Bournet, set out on a mission to produce Bordeaux blends that would turn heads in their native France. That they have. And how. Today, the operation is overseen by Charles de Bournet Marnier Lapostolle, the seventh-generation of the family line.
The Terroir: Many of the Clos Apalta vines are pre-Phylloxera, having been planted as far back as 1915. In winemaking, a lot of flaws or weaknesses can be corrected or masked in the cellar, and various adjustments are made all the time to balance the inadequacies of a season. But age is immutable: either you have it or you don't. And these vines have it. What they also have is a very distinctive microclimate — the vineyards were even awarded their own Denomination of Origin, in 2018. In short, these are wines with extraordinary bones, and the process of winemaking here is largely about coaxing forth what is already present at creation.
Our Tasting Notes: The Clos Apalta opens with an aromatically intense floral burst, before sending up other hints, of Provencal herbs, of stone fruits, of eucalyptus, of whispery smoke. On the palate, there is no attack — this is all softness and swaddle, and the experience unfolds and surprises (now mineral, now saline, now ever-so-lightly spiced). The tannins are handled beautifully, and give definition and clarity. A beauty. The Petit Clos, their second wine, is also extremely well-constructed, and it's clear that beauty, again, has been prioritized, in the almost effortless balance here between density and concentration on the one hand and finesse and elegance on the other.
ABV: Both wines are 15%.
Fun Fact: Properly speaking, the Lapostolle story begins, not in Chile, but in France, more specifically a town called Neauphle-le-château, near Versailles. It was there, in 1827, that Jean-Baptiste Lapostolle founded a fruit liqueur distillery and set the family on its current course.
Our Guarantee: We always buy and source direct, so you can be confident that your wines will arrive in your hands with pristine provenance. Don't hesitate to secure yours today!
*Offer NOT valid in-store. This offer is made pre-arrival, with wines estimated to be delivered to your preferred store in Summer 2024. With the supply chain issues that we are seeing globally, there may be some unforeseen delays which could affect the ETA. All sale prices are the lowest available at Total Wine & More and ONLY valid through Concierge Sales. No further discounts or coupons may be applied. Offer not valid in AZ, CO, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, NM, NV, NY, or TN. This offer is for ONE WEEK, or until sold out, and will expire on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024.
