1997 Clos Apalta
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
50% Merlot, 45% Carmenère, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for new French oak for 16 months. Coffee, cooked black fruit, oxidised and tired primary fruit on the nose. There is mushroom and wet earth showing in line with expected maturity, and the fruit has more pep on the palate, leading into a dry but refined palate with excellent balance from the fully resolved tannins and bright acid. Smoked meat on the aftertaste. Could be ageable for a short while longer, although the fruit seems on the precipice. (RH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Explosive impact on the nose. Deep colour, very sweet, perhaps very slightly overripe? But there is a lot more sweetness than form or structure. Easy, big, ultra-ripe – certainly a statement. (JR)
One thousand, eight hundred cases of this extraordinary wine were produced from the oldest (50 years average age) non-irrigated vines controlled by Casa Lapostolle. The blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Carmenere, aged in 100% new French oak casks, and bottled with neither fining nor filtration, is a triumph in wine making. Yields were kept to a conservative 40 hectoliters per hectare, resulting in an opaque purple-colored wine with an exquisite nose of black cherry, blackberry, and creme de cassis fruit intertwined with subtle toasty oak and lead pencil. Full-bodied, with an opulent texture, sensational concentration, and layered nuances, this wine will have 10-15 years of longevity, although its fatness and low acidity give it immediate accessibility. This superb wine is a tour de force. Not surprisingly, the consulting winemaker was Pomerol's brilliant Michel Rolland. Anticipated maturity: now-2015. This wine is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 1. This wine may appear expensive vis a vis the run of the mill juice coming out of Chile, but in today's marketplace, this effort are sensibly priced. Serious wine tasters should give it a try. Importer: Schieffelin & Somerset, New York, NY; tel. (212) 251-8337
Bright, saturated ruby to the rim. Penetrating aromas of crystallized black cherry, blackberry, cassis, bitter chocolate, licorice, menthol and spices; faintly port-like but vibrant. Lush but not at all thick or heavy; perfectly integrated acidity restrains the sweetness of this very concentrated, silky wine and gives clarity to its dark berry flavors. Juicy and utterly suave, with a wonderful lightness of touch. Finishes with firm but thoroughly velvety tannins and a burst of slightly medicinal black cherry flavor.
About the producer
Chile’s Clos Apalta is arguably South America’s most successful estate, garnering praise from the world’s leading wine critics and connoisseurs. The 2005 vintage was named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year – the only South American wine to do so – and the wines continue to impress.