Clos Apalta 2011 (OWC 6)

Description

By James Suckling in 2015 (JS96)
This is a great red with polished tannins that have tension and intensity, making you want to drink it. Shows wonderful reserve and focus. Precision winemaking. A blend of Carmenere, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Always one of the top wines of Chile. Drink or hold.

By Wine Enthusiast in 2015 (WE95)
*Cellar Selection* Cool aromas of cola, coffee, blackberry, stewed plum, herbs and minerals make for a highly attractive and complex bouquet. In the mouth, wall-to-wall power and tannins suggest that this needs a few more years to mellow out. Flavors of stewed plum, blackberry, Carolina barbecue sauce and a hint of citrus peel are complex and set up a deep finish with dark flavors and intensity to spare. Drink from 2016 through 2025. The blend is 57% Carmenère, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot.

By Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate in 2014 (WA93)
The 2011 Clos Apalta is a blend from a cold vintage aged in 100% new barrels for about two years, depending on how they find the wine, and the wine that makes it into the bottle is a barrel selection. 2011 was a cool vintage, perhaps something between 2010 and 2013, warmer than the former, more moderate than the latter; it’s the freshest of all the vintages that I tried, with good acidity, finer tannins, density, freshness and finesse as well as very good balance and a silky texture. As for future vintages, the 2012 will be bottled earlier, as it was a warm vintage and needs less maturing in oak. The 2013, which is still very young and was pre-blended the day before my tasting with Michel Rolland, will be bottled a year from now and will be re-evaluated before being bottled, when the blend might be adjusted at the last minute. I also tasted an impressive new wine from very old vines that were traditionally blended into the Clos with a long aging in the T5 barrels from Taransaud.