winemaker's notes:
Wine of the Year
#1 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2008
COLOR: Intense inked dark red with purple hints
NOSE: Exuberant and complex, with red and black fruit such as plums, black cherries combined with currant, berries, dry figs with black cocoa and a violet touch. Sweet spices like clover and vanilla give an elegant touch towards the finish.
MOUTH: Well balanced, an elegant wine which has a bright attack followed by round, velvety and polished tannins filling the mid palate and a rich long lasting finish.
SERVICE AND PAIRING: Decant for 3 hours and enjoy at room temperature. Ideal companion for game, lamb, and entrecote fillet. Also good with rich cocoa chocolate desserts.
"Since its outstanding debut 1997 vintage, Casa Lapostolle's Clos Apalta bottling has helped to establish Chile as a premier red-wine region. Owner Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle and her team created a blend of Chile's distinctive Carmenère variety, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the estate's oldest vines in Colchagua's Apalta sub-valley, then kept refining: fermenting in smaller lots, hand-destemming berries and constructing a gravity-flow winery. All this came to fruition in the long, warm, dry 2005 vintage, easily Chile's modern best. Marnier and new winemaker Jacques Begarie blended in 4 percent Petit Verdot for the first time, adding aroma and color. Rich and velvety, the 2005 Clos Apalta should reward cellaring. The wine's price has remained relatively modest through the years."
96 Points,
Wine Spectator