Lapostolle 2021 Apalta Red Wine, Santa Cruz, Colchagua Valley, Chile

In recent years as the buyer for all of our New World wines, I have found myself leaning on Chile more and more for red wines that always give way more than what you are paying for them.  The 2021 “Apalta” from Lapostolle can hold its own against great red blends from anywhere in California, even some of the great wines of Bordeaux.  It is an outstanding example of French-inspired red winemaking.

Lapostolle winery is in the heart of Chile with its roots deep in France. The Bournet-Lapostolle family has been in the business of producing fine wine and spirits dating back to 1827! Alexandra Mariner (family famous for Grand Marnier) and Cyril de Bournet (domaine de Bournet) visited and fell in love with the Apalta valley when they saw the great potential to produce world class wine. In 1994, Lapostolle was founded in the heart of Chile’s Central Valley, located specifically in the Colchagua Valley, Cunaco, Santa Cruz in the Apalta Valley.  They fell in love with this location specifically because it is home to 100-year-old pre-phylloxera vines, plus ancient blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere planted between 1910 and 1945. The unique location, terroir, and age of the vines and French winemaking philosophy that help highlight the unique terroir of not only Chile but the amazing valley in which they are located, are how you get such a beautiful bottle of wine.

The 2021 Apalta is made up of a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 10% Carmenere, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Syrah. 70% of this blend was aged for 12 months in used French oak and 30% of it only sees stainless steel tanks. This wine is 100% hand harvested and presents with an elegant and balanced nose with notes of dark berry fruit with a kick of spice behind them. The palate is soft with intense red and black fruit followed by hints of coffee and cocoa and a robust but balanced tannin structure.

If you love drinking red Bordeaux and Cabernet Sauvignon, you'll be astonished when you sample Lapostolle’s impressive bottling, Apalta.