Clos Apalta 2023
Apalta
Chile, Chile
Regular price£474.00
/
Arriving: Late 2026
Shipping duty paid to Mainland UK is charged at a flat rate of £9.99 per consignment and POA for Northern Ireland or Islands.
Shipping under bond is dependant on location, but starts at £15 per consignment.
| Style: Red | Packaging: OWC |
| ABV: % | Closure: Cork |
| Organic: | Drink from: 2026 |
| Biodynamic: | Drink to: 2045 |
| Grapes: 66% Carmenère, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot | |
Critic scores
95 RP, 97 VM, 97 JS, 98 JD, 17.5 JR, 96 JA, 97 DB
Critic reviews
"The 2023 Clos Apalta is an impressive testament to the consistency this team routinely achieves. As is typical, it is the most powerful wine in the range, opening with an expressive and confident bouquet of ripe red and blue fruits with signature floral overtones, nuanced herbal flourishes and an elegantly woody backdrop that is already remarkably well integrated. The mouthfeel echoes the generous nature of the harvest while maintaining an impressively upright and focused structural posture that carries through to an expansive, ultra-refined finish. I suspect this will benefit from a bit of extra time in bottle to congeal, and it should drink well into the start of its second decade. The blend is 66% Carmenère, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot."
Matthew Luczy, May 2026, RobertParker.com
"The 2023 Clos Apalta (66% Carménère, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot) opens with boldo and black fruit, along with a hint of soft ash and well-defined oak on the nose. The vintage streamlines the palate and adds fluidity, while lightly grippy tannins provide structure and grip, balanced by the estate's plush style. It is long on the finish, filling the palate and echoing the aromatics. A serious wine that increasingly reflects its origin and terroir."
Joaquin Hidalgo, August 2026, Vinous.com
"Deep but fleshier and rounder this year, showing more openness and supple fruit. A touch of balsamic as well, with some dark olives and hints of violets and paprika to the rich but honest core. Full-bodied with a creamy center palate. Long and resolved in the finish. A blend of 66% carmenere, 21% cabernet sauvignon and 13% merlot. Aged 19 months in barrels, including 70% new oak. Drink or hold."
James Suckling, July 2026, JamesSuckling.com
"Another brilliant and unquestionably world-class wine from this estate, the 2023 Clos Apalte checks in as 66% Carmenere, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 13% Merlot that was aged 24 months in 80% new French oak. Darker berries, leafy tobacco, red peppercorns, and graphite, as well as a beautiful floral character, all emerge from the glass. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's pure, balanced, and elegant, with fine tannins, remarkable purity, and a great finish. I love it today, yet it will drink well for two decades. Drink 2026-2045."
Jeb Dunnuck, March 2026, JebDunnuck.com
"Spiced plum, cassis, liquorice root, fennel, this is full of powerful brambled fruit character, mouthwatering salinity on the finish, great quality, intense and full of estate character. 70% new oak, 15% in larger oak. Andrea Léon winemaker."
Jane Anson, July 2026, JaneAnson.com
"Dark glowing crimson. Very sweet and polished with just a little of that Chilean green/chocolate streak. Almost approachable already."
Jancis Robinson, September 2026, JancisRobinson.com
"Aromatically this is more obviously solar than Le Petit Clos, unremarkably so given the prevailing vintage conditions. Bramble, bramble jam, assorted crushed peppercorns and oodles of graphite too with a little walnut shell and a hint of green olive tapenade. I love the little hint of acacia and, with aeration, the floral notes that flood through. In the mouth this is crunchy and lifted, as ever, despite the density and concentration. This soars. A wine to give you vertigo! Plump, plush, full, yet refined and delicate in the silkiness of its tannins, this has been managed so well. It retains its authentic delicate florality and its signature freshness. Saline and sapid together on the finish. Altitude is again the key; that, and excellent choices in both the vineyard and the chai. 97."
Colin Hay, August 2026, DrinksBusiness.com
Matthew Luczy, May 2026, RobertParker.com
"The 2023 Clos Apalta (66% Carménère, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot) opens with boldo and black fruit, along with a hint of soft ash and well-defined oak on the nose. The vintage streamlines the palate and adds fluidity, while lightly grippy tannins provide structure and grip, balanced by the estate's plush style. It is long on the finish, filling the palate and echoing the aromatics. A serious wine that increasingly reflects its origin and terroir."
Joaquin Hidalgo, August 2026, Vinous.com
"Deep but fleshier and rounder this year, showing more openness and supple fruit. A touch of balsamic as well, with some dark olives and hints of violets and paprika to the rich but honest core. Full-bodied with a creamy center palate. Long and resolved in the finish. A blend of 66% carmenere, 21% cabernet sauvignon and 13% merlot. Aged 19 months in barrels, including 70% new oak. Drink or hold."
James Suckling, July 2026, JamesSuckling.com
"Another brilliant and unquestionably world-class wine from this estate, the 2023 Clos Apalte checks in as 66% Carmenere, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 13% Merlot that was aged 24 months in 80% new French oak. Darker berries, leafy tobacco, red peppercorns, and graphite, as well as a beautiful floral character, all emerge from the glass. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's pure, balanced, and elegant, with fine tannins, remarkable purity, and a great finish. I love it today, yet it will drink well for two decades. Drink 2026-2045."
Jeb Dunnuck, March 2026, JebDunnuck.com
"Spiced plum, cassis, liquorice root, fennel, this is full of powerful brambled fruit character, mouthwatering salinity on the finish, great quality, intense and full of estate character. 70% new oak, 15% in larger oak. Andrea Léon winemaker."
Jane Anson, July 2026, JaneAnson.com
"Dark glowing crimson. Very sweet and polished with just a little of that Chilean green/chocolate streak. Almost approachable already."
Jancis Robinson, September 2026, JancisRobinson.com
"Aromatically this is more obviously solar than Le Petit Clos, unremarkably so given the prevailing vintage conditions. Bramble, bramble jam, assorted crushed peppercorns and oodles of graphite too with a little walnut shell and a hint of green olive tapenade. I love the little hint of acacia and, with aeration, the floral notes that flood through. In the mouth this is crunchy and lifted, as ever, despite the density and concentration. This soars. A wine to give you vertigo! Plump, plush, full, yet refined and delicate in the silkiness of its tannins, this has been managed so well. It retains its authentic delicate florality and its signature freshness. Saline and sapid together on the finish. Altitude is again the key; that, and excellent choices in both the vineyard and the chai. 97."
Colin Hay, August 2026, DrinksBusiness.com