Created by the Bournet-Lapostolle family as Apalta’s grand vin, from very old, mostly ungrafted vines averaging close to 80 years. In 2022, a cooler season with slightly smaller yields and slower ripening preserved purity, texture and balance. The vineyard sits in a horseshoe-shaped amphitheatre with a rare North–South exposure and the cooling Tinguiririca River below.
Winemaking: Hand-picked grapes, 100% hand de-stemmed. Fermented mainly in French oak vats, with a small share in new 225-L barrels; around two years’ ageing, ~70% new oak, to polish structure without overt wood.
Tasting notes (producer): Dark and deep red color with purple edges. The nose is intense, spicy overlapping with layers of red and black fruit, graphite and cedar notes. alanced and concentrated with refined tannins that open up the palate, with a bright structure that bring more fruit and spices towards a very long finish Clos Apalta
Grape varieties: 68% Carménère, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot.
The 2022 Clos Apalta is 68% Carménère, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot from Apalta. This aged primarily in French oak vats with 10% of the blend in 225-liter Bordeaux barrels. It opens with black fruit, a delicate ash note, underbrush, boldo and gentle spice over subtle oak. Blueberry, blackberry and sour cherry aromas complete the aromatic profile. On the palate, this is dry for the house style, with medium structure, refined grip and juicy flow. The finish is long and finely tuned. This vintage offers a more restrained version of Clos Apalta. It's less opulent than usual but with captivating nuance and poise. The 2022 is a terroir-driven response to a cooler year.
- Joaquín Hidalgo (07/2025)
The carmenere character is more obvious and confidently transparent this year, but in a really complex and layered way. Cedar, black olives, graphite, paprika and hints of pepper and iodine. It’s well rounded, with a light sanguine note to the ripe fruit. The tannins are fine-grained yet polished. The lengthy finish doesn't want to stop. 68% carmenere, 22% cabernet sauvignon and 10% merlot. Drink from 2027.
The Grand Vin 2022 Clos Apalta checks in as 68% Carménère, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot that spent two years in 70% new French oak. Smoking notes of black raspberries, leafy herbs, iron, and violet carry to a brilliantly balanced, seamless, medium to full-bodied red that has ultra-fine tannins, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's an absolutely sensational red from this team that comes close to topping out my scale. I love it today yet see no reason it shouldn't evolve for 15+ years. (03/2025)
A particularly pretty and floral expression of Clos Apalta, the 2022 Clos Apalta is beautifully lush and expressive on the nose, combining a deep core of black and blue fruit aromas with pencil lead, camphor and bramble accents, developing dried purple flower notes that continue to gain volume with aeration. The palate displays the house's quintessentially lavish yet graceful style before concluding with a long, staining, and saturated finish that blends sweet fruits with a toasty, oak-driven backbone, polished tannins and bright acidity. As always, this is quite a stylized expression of Apalta but one that retains a sense of nuance. This blend of 68% Carménère, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot fermented and aged in a mix of barrique, puncheon and large cask.
