2005 Lapostolle Clos Apalta

[Frederic von Hess]

Any thoughts on this? would like to try a bottle this weekend...

[David M. Bueker]

Frederic - I am going to move your topic into the regular wine talk area. In December we're discussing Champagne & Stickies in Wine Focus.

And welcome aboard the WLDG!

[Oswaldo Costa]

Any thoughts on this? would like to try a bottle this weekend...

Yes, you should hate it because it is made by a big company and is designed to get big point scores from reviewers. It is made from overly mature grapes that lost some of their acidity so acid had to added. It has too much alcohol. It could be from anywhere because supermaturity obliterates differences between terroirs and varietals. Having said all that, it should be quite nice. Welcome aboard!

[David M. Bueker]

Tell us how you really feel Oswaldo.

[Frederic von Hess]

wups sorry... move it no prob, my mistake...

Haven't tried it yet so I can't make many comments, but I believe it's around 80% carmenere, and carmenere as well as merlot is not easy to overly mature in Chile, grapes dehydrate very very easily... if they do it and if the results are good... I guess they deserve some credit for it.

[Oswaldo Costa]

In his article on Chile, Alder (Vinography) wrote:

Carmenere is Not a Good Candidate for Natural Winemaking
I was surprised to learn that nearly 100% of all Carmenere wines made in Chile are acidulated. For those unfamiliar with the term and practice, this means that the winemaker adds tartaric acid to the wine during the winemaking process to boost the acid levels of the finished wine. Wines without enough acidity don't taste very good, of course. Carmenere, by the time it gets fully ripe, apparently doesn't have enough acid to make a well balanced wine on its own. At least not the way it is grown in Chile at the moment. So apparently Chilean winemakers are faced with only two choices: add acid, or blend in other grapes that can correct the lack of acidity. I was told by several winemakers that they used Petite Verdot for this particular trick, but if they wanted to make a 100% Carmenere wine, they would most certainly have to add acid.

[Oswaldo Costa]

Tell us how you really feel Oswaldo.

I don't like it and I don't like the idea of it. To each his own, but I'd rather explore wines from regions where, most of the time, you don't have to chaptalize or acidulate, and avoid vintages where one of the other was widespread.

[Sam Platt]

Frederic,

I plan to hold my bottle of the '05 Clos Apalta for at least another year. Much as Oswaldo makes a compelling theoretical argument against liking the wine, I fall back on taste. The other vintages of Clos Apalta I have tried have tasted quite good. Please let me know how your '05 is doing. I would love an excuse to break mine out early.

[Redwinger]

...I fall back on taste.

An equally compelling argument. Of course, you like pear juice.
'Winger

[Sam Platt]

An equally compelling argument. Of course, you like pear juice.

But only pear juice fermented from the most semi-offensive grapes that the Mosel Valley has to offer.