2019 Le Petit Clos (Clos Apalta)
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Tasting notes
The second wine from Clos Apalta, the 2019 Le Petit Clos, was produced with a blend of 49% Carmenere, 30% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot from granite soils. It fermented with indigenous yeasts with four to five weeks of maceration with manual punch-downs and malolactic in French oak barrels. The élevage was eight months in new barrels and a further 14 months in 50% new oak and 50% second-use oak. It's a ripe and powerful red with 14.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.6. It has a nose of herbs and spices, and it's creamy and lush, with a juicy texture and a full body with an herbal finish. It has mellow acidity and a soft mouthfeel through round and fine tannins. 41,988 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2021.
Critic scores
Average Score
Tom Parker MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The second wine from this notable estate is the 2019 Le Petit Clos, a blend of 49% Carménère, 30% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot, raised in 50% new French oak. It has a great bouquet of ripe red and black currants, leafy tobacco, and chocolate, and there's a distinct Bordeaux-like lead pencil character that emerges with time in the glass. Possessing full-bodied richness, a lush, supple, forward mouthfeel, good freshness, and outstanding length, it's one heck of a second wine that should evolve gracefully over the coming decade.
49% Carmenère, 30% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot. Tomato leaf, pulpy, plummy fruit and a minty, green edge on the nose. Sweet and sour at the same time, this is just a little disjointed. Herbal, yet with cherry-drop and fruit-pastille stickiness. (TP)
Grilled cedar oak on the first nose, and a punch of spice. Transports you to South America, with its red pepper spices, passionfruit and sweet black cherry fruit. This is enjoyable, unfussy, has a deliciously supple texture. Harvest March 13-May 13, taking a leisurely two months. Old vines head up to 100 years old, and the oldest ones are ungrafted. The first vintage of Petit Clos was in 2014, with the blend made in the cellar rather than specific plots. 8 months in new French oak, then 50/50 barrel and stainless steel.
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.