2018 Clos Apalta Proprietary Blend

The Clos Apalta story begins with Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, the great-granddaughter of Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle who founded France’s most exported French liqueur, Grand Marnier. In 1994, Alexandra embarked on a new adventure in Chile. True to the demands of the family, her ambition was to produce an exceptional wine and to pave the way for the qualitative development of the country's wines. In just a few years, Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle succeeded in making Clos Apalta an iconic wine by shaping this vineyard, foot by foot.  Working with some of the world’s oldest, ungrafted, dry-farmed vines, they produce exceptional Bordeaux-inspired blends based on Carménère – a grape that was once widely planted in Bordeaux and has become Chile’s calling card.

With its 2005 vintage, Clos Apalta is the only South American wine to have been named #1 Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator. With the exceptional 2017 vintage, Clos Apalta was awarded for the third time 100 points by wine critic James Suckling, consolidating its position in the “Legends of Chile”.

Clos Apalta has a micro-climate which is significantly distinct from the general climate of Chile. It could be called semi-Mediterranean, with winter rains and a long, dry summer; weather conditions that allow the grapes to reach optimum maturity. The vineyard is located at the entrance of the Apalta Valley, with its 60 hectares laid amphitheatrically. It enjoys a mostly southeast exposure, quite rare in Colchagua, which limits the sunshine and protects the old vines planted in poor granite soils from extreme heat. The oldest plots were planted between 1915 and 1920. 

Charles-Henri de Bournet Marnier Lapostolle (son of Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and Cyril de Bournet) has been stewarding the family dynasty since 2013.  He is accompanied by the famous consultant Michel Rolland, who is personally involved in all Clos Apalta production.  Technical director Jacques Begarie left France in 2004 to work exclusively with Clos Apalta. Andrea Leon has been promoted to the Chief Winemaker and has been working with Clos Apalta and Viña Lapostolle since 2005.