THE Clos Apalta!

Today was one of those when a surprise supplier shows up with a powerhouse wine in their bag and just made my day. Brian and I were taking some orders online and over the phone for our amazing Silver Oak deal when one of our suppliers showed up with the US Rep for Casa Lapostolle and their infamous Clos Apalta 2008. The Clos Apalta was the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wine ranked at #1 back with its 2005 vintage, and since then has been somewhat of a ghost, selling out in the matter of minutes every time thereafter it gets released.

However, before we could get right into THE wine of the day, we had a few other gems that Casa Lapostolle had to offer to try; their Cuvee Alexandre line. You have to date before the romance truly begins I guess. So, the first wine we jumped into was the 2008 Chardonnay which is a no malo-wine (malolactic fermentation is when lactic acid - milk - is added to a wine to calm down the harsh green apple fruits of the wine which leads to those wonderfully buttery aromas) from a single vineyard in the Casablanca Valley of Chile which was a nice surprise. It was well structured and balanced but does the world need another $20 buttery Chard? Probably not.

Then we moved onto the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Carmenere, both of which are actually from the Apalta Vineyard ( the vineyard responsible for the Clos Apalta). The Cabernet (a blend of 85% Cabernet and 15% Carmenere) was a funky, earthy surprise because the Carmenere really shined through, although the Carmenere truly struck me because I am generally not a Carmenere guy and this rocked! A Blend of 85% Carmenere and 15% Merlot, this was one of the most well balanced, silkiest tannined wines I have ever had! Just a true surprise.

Then we moved onto the main event; the Clos Apalta. Named Clos Apalta in honor of their Old World beginnings (Clos actually means, in French, a walled in single vineyard, and of course, Apalta is the name of the actual vineyard, hence Clos Apalta). This was AMAZING! A blend of 73% Carmenere, 17% Cabernet and 10% Merlot, it was rich and dense with opulent fruits with unbelievably juicy tannins that was completely organically produced. What! A! WINE!

After tasting it, we took our entire allocation and sold out in the matter of MINUTES! I wish we could get more (and believe me we will try), but it was a real treat to be one of the first people in the country to try this wine. I love this job!