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by Manos Angelakis
Casa Lapostolle is a French winery, smack in the heart of Chile’s Apalta valley. Actually, it is the wine style that is more French than Chilean; Old World restrained than New World exuberant, much of it having prominent vanilla flavors from the French oak vats in which the grapes are fermented and 4,000 oak barrels in which the wines are aged.
The vineyards extend from steep hillsides to a flat plain. The majority of the vines are fairly young, with the exception of a very large plot in the Apalta vineyard purchased from the original owners of the land, which has 50 to 80-year old, densely planted, non-irrigated rootstock. The winery currently owns 320 hectares of land in three different valleys, with an additional 100 under contract. Red grapes are planted in the Apalta vineyard, while Chardonnay is planted on the cooler hillsides of Casablanca valley. Most of the vines are on their own, ungrafted vitis vinifera rootstock, since Chile is one of the few areas that have never been affected by phyloxera. Yields are kept very low to assure depth and concentration in the wine. The grapes are hand-harvested and transferred by refrigerated truck to the winery .
Located near the town of Santa Cruz, in the Colchagua Valley, about 200 miles southwest of the capital, Santiago, the Casa Lapostolle winery was created by Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband Cyril de Bournet. The winery is a marvel of technical ingenuity as well as aesthetic excellence. Hidden from view, one can only discern a small building, the top of the facility, which is dug six-stories-deep into the hillside. A semi-circular giant wood sculpture that looks like the separated staves of a wine barrel is what a visitor will mostly see in the distance upon arrival at the estate’s gates. The Apalta vineyard surrounds the winery hill.
Casa Lapostolle produces four quality levels of wine:
• The entry level, Classic Line with bottlings of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.
• The Tanao Blanc and Tanao Rouge line.
• The Cuvée Alexandre, the flagship line. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah bottlings.
• And the super premium Clos Apalta.
 During my visit I had the chance to taste a number of Cuvée Alexandre vintages as well as the two most recent Clos Apalta; the bottled 2004 and a barrel sample – pulled right from the barrel - of the 2005.
From my notes:
Cuvée Merlot 1997. An early Casa Lapostolle vintage, it is marked on the label as 100% Merlot from the Rapel Valley, though that was before the discovery that Chilean vineyard plots thought to be 100% Merlot, were actually a mixture of Merlot and Carmenère. This wine is now considered a blend of Merlot and Carmenère but the exact proportion of each varietal is not known. Lovely dark ruby red in color with lighter red/orange highlights. Cassis, black forest berries, coffee and toffee on the nose with ripe tannins. Chewy. Rated as LWM90 points
Cuvée Merlot 2001. The product of an exceptional vintage. Low yields averaging 2 to 2.5 tons/acre. Exceptional concentration, beautiful balance. Deep, dense ruby color with red highlights. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Carmenère. Blackberries and black cherries on the nose with notes of chocolate and toast. Beautiful full body, with black currant and forest fruit on the palate. Silky, well structured tannins. A meat-eater’s delight. Ready to drink now but will further benefit in complexity from a few years of cellaring. Rated at LWM93 points.
Cuvée Merlot 2003. Very dark ruby color with garnet highlights, a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Carmenère. An assertive wine with good backbone needs some aging to bloom with time in the bottle. Muscular tannins with toasty oak.  Cassis, violets and chocolate on the nose. Rated at LWM92 points.
Cuvée Merlot 2005. A beautiful wine still in diapers. Dark ruby in color. Exuberant red fruit and red currant on the nose. Very muscular tannins need bottle age to mellow. Too young to rate, I would give a provisional LWM91 to 92 points.
Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon 1999. A really nice wine from a rather dry season. Deep ruby color with lighter ruby highlights. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from old vines. Good acidity marks a spicy, food-friendliness. Nose of jammy red fruit, blackberry, chocolate and toffee. Rich and concentrated on the palate with well structured tannins. Ready to drink now, but will still gain complexity if cellared for a few more years. Rated LWM93 points.
Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Colchagua Valley. Deep garnet color with ruby highlights. Too young as tasted, it showed great potential for becoming a satisfying excellent, food-friendly wine. Should delight with venison and other strong tasting meats. A provisional LWM91 to 92 points.
Clos Apalta 2004. 84% Merlot/Carmenère, 16% Cabernet sauvignon. A lovely, silky premium wine from old vines. Very impressive. Deep ruby red with garnet highlights and purple shadows. It is fresh, with nice acidity. Very complex nose. Intense fruit aromas of blueberries and concentrated black forest fruit; espresso and toffee notes. The palate exhibits plum and toasty oak with nuances of dry figs. Well integrated tannins.  It has a long, polished finish. A truly exceptional wine that will gain more complexity as it ages. Rated at LWM95 points.
While visiting the aging cellar we tasted the barrel sample of the 2005 Clos Apalta. Too young to rate, it was still in the barrel after all, it was nevertheless impressive. It should develop into another complex, well-drinking, premium wine.
With appetizers, later in the evening, we also had the chance to taste the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc Casa Lapostolle; a fresh, fruity, highly aromatic blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Semillon. The grapes came from the Las Kuras vineyard, further into the Rapel Valley. Bottled in August of 2006, it had all the charm and freshness of youth. Intense nose of tropical fruit, melon and peach. Light straw-colored body with very good acidity. Served chilled, it was a perfect companion to the appetizers with which it was paired. Rated at LWM91 points.
Congratulations to Mme. Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, the consulting winemaker Michel Rolland, the resident winemaker Jacques Begarie, and the hands-on winemaker Andrea León for creating these deliciously impressive wines.
Salut!
© December 2006 The Oenophile Blog. All rights reserved.
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