Clos Apalta estate spotlight
The official Lapostolle Wines English house film walks Casa Lapostolle and Clos Apalta, the Apalta Valley estate behind this Le Petit Clos.
2021 Clos Apalta 'Le Petit Clos' Apalta Valley, Chile
Andrea León's Carmenère-led second wine from Clos Apalta, dual 96s from James Suckling and Vinous, a 2021 you can open at forty-five dollars.
The 2021 Le Petit Clos is 68 percent Carmenère with 16 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 percent Merlot, and 1 percent Cabernet Franc from El Condor de Apalta: baked cherry, dark chocolate, plum, bay leaf, and graphite after native-yeast work in small French oak vats, now $45.
Clos Apalta's second wine, not a leftover Chilean blend
Le Petit Clos is how Clos Apalta lets younger Apalta vines speak before they enter the grand vin. The 2021 is 68 percent Carmenère from El Condor de Apalta, native yeast, small French oak vats, up to five weeks on skins. James Suckling scored it 96 for baked cherry, dark chocolate, ink, and graphite. Vinous scored it 96 and called 2021 a standout for the house. This is the bottle that argues you can drink Clos Apalta character without waiting for the flagship.
The house
Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle founded the estate in 1994. Clos Apalta's 2005 vintage was Wine Spectator Wine of the Year. Andrea León is technical director.
The wine
68% Carmenère, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc. Native yeast, small French oak vats, up to five weeks on skins. 14.5% ABV.
The scores
James Suckling 96. Vinous 96, Joaquín Hidalgo. Wine Advocate 94. Wine Spectator 93.
The drinker
Cherry and bay leaf first. Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Ribeye or short ribs.
Baked cherry and chocolate, then bay, boldo, and graphite
James Suckling found baked cherries and dark chocolate over deep blackberry, with ink, graphite, and dried herbs, then fine-grained tannin and a long close. Vinous found plum and blackberry with bay leaf, boldo, and menthol over an ashy marmalade core, plush and juicy with a fresh 2021 snap.
A cooler, fresher Colchagua year that kept Carmenère from going heavy. Vinous called 2021 a standout for Clos Apalta: ripe fruit mellowed by the vintage's lift.
Baked cherry, blackberry, plum, dark chocolate, blueberry, bay leaf, boldo, menthol, dried herbs, graphite.
Full, 14.5% ABV, fine-grained tannin, native yeast, small French oak vats, a juicy 2021 line.
Ink, cocoa, herbal snap. Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Carmenère first, then small French oak vats
On the Clos Apalta and Winebow sheet, the 2021 Le Petit Clos is 68 percent Carmenère with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and a touch of Cabernet Franc from El Condor de Apalta, fermented with native yeast in small French oak vats and held up to five weeks on skins. That is why bay leaf, boldo, and graphite sit on baked cherry instead of turning the wine into toast.
Granitic colluvial soils over clay give the mineral snap. Younger vines make the blend more forward than the grand vin while keeping the same Apalta grapes.
Wine Advocate noted 50 percent new oak and a floral, spice-driven 2021 versus the more savory flagship. Thirty to 45 minutes of air is for perfume, not a rescue.
A French house that made Apalta a Chilean icon
Le Petit Clos exists because Clos Apalta needed a second wine that still tastes like the amphitheater, not a brand extension.
Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle came to Colchagua in 1994 looking for a New World site that could take a Bordeaux idea seriously. Clos Apalta followed, and the 2005 vintage became Wine Spectator Wine of the Year.
Andrea León has run the cellar as technical director after years beside Michel Rolland. Charles de Bournet leads the family in Chile.
Le Petit Clos, first bottled in 2014, is the younger-vine reading of the same El Condor de Apalta fruit: Carmenère for the voice, Cabernet for the frame.
Char, cocoa spice, and a steakhouse plate
Dark fruit, bay leaf, and fine tannin want browned beef and a slow braise. Ribeye echoes the chocolate. Short ribs take the graphite close.
Two plates. One butter-basted ribeye. One red-wine short rib. Both can take Le Petit Clos tannin and spice.
Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Wide bowls. Air is for bay leaf and cocoa.
Butter-Basted Ribeye
A hard crust, butter, and thyme. Clos Apalta's weeknight steakhouse landing.
Why it works: Fat and char cushion Carmenère tannin while browned beef pulls chocolate, blackberry, and bay through the glass.
View Recipe for butter-basted ribeye (opens in a new tab)
Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs
Collagen, wine, and a long simmer. Enough depth for a 96-point Apalta blend.
Why it works: Reduction and beef echo graphite, dried herbs, and the long, juicy close.
View Recipe for red wine braised short ribs (opens in a new tab)Put this Le Petit Clos in the cart
Clos Apalta's second wine. James Suckling 96 and Vinous 96. Carmenère from El Condor de Apalta. Forty-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Apalta bottle for a table that wants Clos Apalta character without waiting on the flagship.
