AWESOME!!! A Chilean wine made the Wine of the Year (2008) for Wine Spectator. That means it beat the Premier Grand Cru, some rockin’ Pinot, many, many others. Wow. Clos Apalta is the creme de la creme of Casa Lapostolle winery, a sultry, slinky vintage of 42% Carmenere, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot.
We visit Clos Apalta quite frequently and this has been my favorite vintage besides 2001 (2003 we are still waiting since it was explosive and needed time). 2005, in general, was very feminine for the grand wines of Chile. Long, elegant, slowly revealing itself with soft tannins. I still found the barrel could mellow out a bit. And don’t get me wrong, this is new world Rolland-style so the word “big” still applies. But within that genre, it is very expressive. Bravo to the winemakers.
Simultaneously, if being named Wine of the Year wasn’t enough, Clos Apalta winery was named Wine Enthusiast’s New World Winery of the Year. I call the winery a “shrine to wine”. Think the guggenheim in a winery spiraling six stories deep into the ground (never mind all the granite they had to dynamite out and then carve into the floor stones). Slick, understated with fine details in premier craftsmanship, you may never see another like this anywhere else. By the time you get to the second year barrel cellar for tasting, and catch a glimpse of Madame Marnier’s private cellar (OMG!), you will be mesmerized.
So what are you waiting for? Go get those bottles, or better yet, cases, of Clos Apalta 2005 before they disappear. Last time I was in the US, I could hardly believe when I saw it at Trader Joe’s in Napa for US$65. A steal. Seriously.
Salud and congratulations Clos Apalta!
