Wine Article
2014 Clos Apalta
Last edited on 8/14/2019 by LindsayM
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Clos Apalta 2014
GEOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS
Apalta is located at 170 Kilometers South West from Santiago in the Colchagua Valley. The Vineyard is situated on a North to South exposure, which is quite rare in Chile. The Tinguiririca river rests on one side and the hills from the Coastal Cordillera surround the vineyard like a horseshoe on the other. They are both integral in forming this unique terroir. This geography is responsible for the conditions that ensure balance for our vines and a slow ripening for the grapes. At sunrise and sunset, the Cordillera block the sun’s rays, limiting the vines exposure to intense sunshine and the river has a cooling influence on the climate.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF APALTA VALLEY
Apalta has a special meso-climate that is different from the rest of Colchagua Valley. Its climate could be described as semi-dry Mediterranean; with a winter only rainy season and a long dry summer season. Rains are highly concentrated during the winter reaching over 550 mm in on average. During the growing season (oct-april), we have beautiful days and warm temperatures with no rain due to the height of the Coastal Mountains which partially block the cold influence of the Pacific Ocean. There are cool breezes in the afternoons and the night-time temperatures are cold. We benefit from a wide temperature fluctuation between night and day; which is a key quality factor for color and tannins in reds. Slow maturation allows the grapes to reach their ideal maturity with high concentration and character, preserving the fruit and high levels of natural acidity, ensuring a long ageing potential.
THE SOIL
There is much diversity in the soil, and our Clos Apalta comes from colluvial granitic soils, lightly textured with layers of clay.
VINTAGE CONDITIONS IN 2014
The 2014 growing season is characterized by a spring with low temperatures, and a summer with normal hot & dry conditions. The 2013 winter was exceptionally cold and dry (118mm vs 237mm of rain). The bud break was 10 days late and the dry weather followed over the springtime. Finally march brought normal conditions, but the fall came with a cold April. The grape lost early its vegetal flavors and was technically ready to make wine, but we had to wait for the aromatic and phenolic ripeness. The ripening process was slow, because of the normal fall characteristics: lower temperatures & shorter days. The cold nights of April allowed us to preserve a good level of acidity and fruit expression. So finally, the challenge during this 2014 season was to wait to r each the desired phenolic maturity.
WINEMAKING
Our winemaking philosophy is to reflect the terroir from Apalta by crafting a wine based in Carmenère. A truly hand crafted wine, we nurture our vines and attend to every detail to preserve the potential of the grapes. We hand harvest the fruit in small cases of 14 kilos. The grapes are 100% hand de-stemmed in our Clos Apalta Winery so we maintain complete control of the quality. 95% of grapes were fermented in our French oak vats while 5% was fermented In new French oak barrels. Then nature does its work, allowing native yeasts that slowly ferment the must into wine, controlling temperature lower than 28° C. Macerations lasted for about 4-5 weeks and during all that period we did manual punch downs to extract enough compounds from skins to get the desired structure and concentration. We rack the young new wine straight into 100% new French oak barrels by gravity. Malolactic happens in barrels, where the wine stays for 26 months, ageing patiently. The wine is bottled by gravity without any treatment or filtration.
TASTING NOTES
Color: Deep ruby red color with purple edges.
Nose: Complex nose opening towards ripe black fruit such as cassis, balckberry and fig, along with nuts, cinnamon and liquorice notes.
Mouth: Intense creamy attack with black fruit flavors. Long lasting velvety tannins. Intense and elegant finish.
Service and food pairing: Open and leave to breathe for a couple of hours or carefully decant for minimum 1 hour or age for several years. Enjoy at 17oC (64°F). Ideal companion for a canard à l’orange, rack of lamb with rustic mashed potatoes or to finish a meal with a selection of a high percentage cacao chocolate.
Clos Apalta 2014
By the numbers
APPELATION
Region/District: Apalta vineyard, Valle de Colchagua, Chile.
Grape Variety 48% Carmenère, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot.
VINEYARD
Climate data:Average Max Temp: 23°C; 74°F.
Average Min Temp: 7°C; 45°F.
Average Rainfall: 550 mm.
Vineyard Management:
- Organic certified vineyards by CERES (Germany).
- Biodynamic certified vineyards by DEMETER (Germany).
- Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon Pre-filoxera old vines planted in 1920 not grafted.
- High density plantation: 6.666 pl/ hectare. - 5.400 pl/ hectare.
- Yields: Average 2.000-3000 Kg/he or 830–1.300 Kg/acre.
- Morning sun leaf removal and green harvest to fine tune yields.
- 100% hand harvested from March 11th until April 20th 2014.
WINEMAKING
Grapes Selection:100% hand de-stemmed in our Clos Apalta Winery.
Fermentation:
100% native yeast
95% fermented in French oak vats of 75 Hl and 5% in new French oak bordeaux barrels.
Skin contact up to 5 weeks.
AGEING
100% of the blend in 225lts new French oak barrels for 26 months.
Coopers: Saury, Taransaud, Seguin Moreau, Demptos, Sylvain and Radoux.
Mostly medium toast.
Fining and filtering:Not fined, cold stabilized or filtered.
PRODUCTION
Date of Bottling: From June 20th 2016
Cases produced:5199 cases of 12 bottles.
GEOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS
Apalta is located at 170 Kilometers South West from Santiago in the Colchagua Valley. The Vineyard is situated on a North to South exposure, which is quite rare in Chile. The Tinguiririca river rests on one side and the hills from the Coastal Cordillera surround the vineyard like a horseshoe on the other. They are both integral in forming this unique terroir. This geography is responsible for the conditions that ensure balance for our vines and a slow ripening for the grapes. At sunrise and sunset, the Cordillera block the sun’s rays, limiting the vines exposure to intense sunshine and the river has a cooling influence on the climate.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF APALTA VALLEY
Apalta has a special meso-climate that is different from the rest of Colchagua Valley. Its climate could be described as semi-dry Mediterranean; with a winter only rainy season and a long dry summer season. Rains are highly concentrated during the winter reaching over 550 mm in on average. During the growing season (oct-april), we have beautiful days and warm temperatures with no rain due to the height of the Coastal Mountains which partially block the cold influence of the Pacific Ocean. There are cool breezes in the afternoons and the night-time temperatures are cold. We benefit from a wide temperature fluctuation between night and day; which is a key quality factor for color and tannins in reds. Slow maturation allows the grapes to reach their ideal maturity with high concentration and character, preserving the fruit and high levels of natural acidity, ensuring a long ageing potential.
THE SOIL
There is much diversity in the soil, and our Clos Apalta comes from colluvial granitic soils, lightly textured with layers of clay.
VINTAGE CONDITIONS IN 2014
The 2014 growing season is characterized by a spring with low temperatures, and a summer with normal hot & dry conditions. The 2013 winter was exceptionally cold and dry (118mm vs 237mm of rain). The bud break was 10 days late and the dry weather followed over the springtime. Finally march brought normal conditions, but the fall came with a cold April. The grape lost early its vegetal flavors and was technically ready to make wine, but we had to wait for the aromatic and phenolic ripeness. The ripening process was slow, because of the normal fall characteristics: lower temperatures & shorter days. The cold nights of April allowed us to preserve a good level of acidity and fruit expression. So finally, the challenge during this 2014 season was to wait to r each the desired phenolic maturity.
WINEMAKING
Our winemaking philosophy is to reflect the terroir from Apalta by crafting a wine based in Carmenère. A truly hand crafted wine, we nurture our vines and attend to every detail to preserve the potential of the grapes. We hand harvest the fruit in small cases of 14 kilos. The grapes are 100% hand de-stemmed in our Clos Apalta Winery so we maintain complete control of the quality. 95% of grapes were fermented in our French oak vats while 5% was fermented In new French oak barrels. Then nature does its work, allowing native yeasts that slowly ferment the must into wine, controlling temperature lower than 28° C. Macerations lasted for about 4-5 weeks and during all that period we did manual punch downs to extract enough compounds from skins to get the desired structure and concentration. We rack the young new wine straight into 100% new French oak barrels by gravity. Malolactic happens in barrels, where the wine stays for 26 months, ageing patiently. The wine is bottled by gravity without any treatment or filtration.
TASTING NOTES
Color: Deep ruby red color with purple edges.
Nose: Complex nose opening towards ripe black fruit such as cassis, balckberry and fig, along with nuts, cinnamon and liquorice notes.
Mouth: Intense creamy attack with black fruit flavors. Long lasting velvety tannins. Intense and elegant finish.
Service and food pairing: Open and leave to breathe for a couple of hours or carefully decant for minimum 1 hour or age for several years. Enjoy at 17oC (64°F). Ideal companion for a canard à l’orange, rack of lamb with rustic mashed potatoes or to finish a meal with a selection of a high percentage cacao chocolate.
Clos Apalta 2014
By the numbers
APPELATION
Region/District: Apalta vineyard, Valle de Colchagua, Chile.
Grape Variety 48% Carmenère, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot.
VINEYARD
Climate data:Average Max Temp: 23°C; 74°F.
Average Min Temp: 7°C; 45°F.
Average Rainfall: 550 mm.
Vineyard Management:
- Organic certified vineyards by CERES (Germany).
- Biodynamic certified vineyards by DEMETER (Germany).
- Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon Pre-filoxera old vines planted in 1920 not grafted.
- High density plantation: 6.666 pl/ hectare. - 5.400 pl/ hectare.
- Yields: Average 2.000-3000 Kg/he or 830–1.300 Kg/acre.
- Morning sun leaf removal and green harvest to fine tune yields.
- 100% hand harvested from March 11th until April 20th 2014.
WINEMAKING
Grapes Selection:100% hand de-stemmed in our Clos Apalta Winery.
Fermentation:
100% native yeast
95% fermented in French oak vats of 75 Hl and 5% in new French oak bordeaux barrels.
Skin contact up to 5 weeks.
AGEING
100% of the blend in 225lts new French oak barrels for 26 months.
Coopers: Saury, Taransaud, Seguin Moreau, Demptos, Sylvain and Radoux.
Mostly medium toast.
Fining and filtering:Not fined, cold stabilized or filtered.
PRODUCTION
Date of Bottling: From June 20th 2016
Cases produced:5199 cases of 12 bottles.