Winemaker Notes
Canto de Apalta originates from Chile's central semi-arid Rapel Valley. Here, the Pacific's Humboldt Current keeps the days warm and dry, and the nights pleasantly cool, allowing the grapes to slowly ripen. Slow maturation guarantees that our wine is able to have an expressive nose and a pleasant structure. The grapes are hand-harvested and transported to the winery in temperature-controlled containers. Strict quality control continues at the winery through a state of the art optical berry selector, Vistalys, which chooses only the freshest, cleanest and purest grapes for our wine. No clarification and very light filtration create natural wines that are true expressions of their origin. Enjoy now as a perfect pairing for meats and elaborate dishes, or cellar for a few years.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a new wine from Lapostolle, bearing a nose that's intense and compact, with mineral and dark fruit aromas. It feels rich and muscular but not heavy, with berry, licorice, buttery oak and vanilla flavors. The finish is minty and chocolaty tasting. Carmenere, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah make up the blend.
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Tasting Panel
Juicy black plum backed with tangy acidity; dense and ripe with balance and style (you see, Carmenere doesn't have to taste like toasted green herbs!); 36% Carmenere, 31% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah.
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Wine Spectator
A rich, smoky red, sporting dark cassis, grilled fig and macerated cherry notes to the iron, smoke and dark spice flavors that linger through the mocha-tinged finish. Carmenere, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
Lapostolle was founded in 1994 by Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband Cyril de Bournet upon their discovery of a unique clos in the Apalta Valley sheltering 100-year-old pre-phylloxera vines. They quickly realized its potential for producing world-class wines and embarked on their family’s next chapter in the New World. Alexandra brought generations of French winemaking tradition and expertise to the rugged landscape of the Colchagua Valley.
Today, Charles de Bournet, the seventh generation, leads the winery in its newest chapter of innovation, punctuated by the official recognition of the Apalta DO in 2018. Together with Andrea León, Technical Director & Winemaker, Lapostolle continue to craft wines that honor the winery’s credo: French in essence, Chilean by birth.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
Touching the Pacific in the west and stretching up into the Andes on its eastern side, the Rapel Valley is one of the more substantial fine red wine producing regions of Chile and contains both the Colchagua Valley in its south and west and the Cachapoal in its north and east. While it is recognized for its exceptional warm-climate reds, the region does produce some fine Pinot noir and Sauvignon blanc on its coastal side.
Some of the country’s finest Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Rapel’s Andean foothills—with significant individualized smaller zones already identified. Soils here are mixtures of loam, clay, and sand; Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, and Merlot are the most prolific varieties throughout the region.