JS99
James Suckling
A generous array of ripe black and blue fruit with pink peppercorns, green olives, dried flowers, toffee and chocolate orange. It’s full-bodied with firm, creamy and velvety tannins. Long and polished. Lovely salted caramel and olives at the end. Keeps going. Unfolds on the finish. 70% Carmenere, 18% merlot, 8% cabernet sauvignon and 4% petit verdot. Drink or hold.
Clos Apalta is Chile's Grand Cru, First Growth, and the absolute best Carmenere that you will find anywhere.
Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points
Coming from the Colchagua Valley region of Chile, the 2019 Clos Apalta is based on 70% Carménère, 18% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot that saw an extended maceration and aging in 90% new French oak. It's a legit brilliant wine, sporting a dense purple hue as well as complex notes of ripe black fruits, ripe herbs, graphite, spice box, and perfectly integrated oak. It has a solid herbal edge and is medium to full-bodied on the palate, with silky tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish.
Wine Spectator 95 Points
Balances muscle and grace in a complex package, with geranium and floral peppercorn-accented red currant notes up front, while the core is densely packed with blackberry and plum flavors that swirl around spiced chocolate details and swell with lively acidity. Ends with mineral twinges, firming tannins and a final wave of kirsch and chocolate. Carmenère, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2035.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 95 Points
The 2019 Clos Apalta was produced with a blend of 70% Carmenere, 18% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, extremely high in Carmenere and low in Cabernet Sauvignon in a ripe and warm year. It fermented with indigenous yeasts for four to five weeks, with manual punch-down of the cap, 67% in 7,500-liter French oak vats and 33% in new French oak barrels followed by malolactic in new French oak barrels. The élevage was 24 months in 90% new barrels and 10% second use. It's powerful, big and ripe, with 15% alcohol and a pH of 3.57. It's creamy and juicy, with very high ripeness and a notable absence of herbal notes; it's oaky, smoky and decadent, coming through as luxurious, round, lush and velvety. It's full-bodied and has abundant, small and powdery tannins.