Description
”GENERAL CLIMATE CONDITIONS OF COLCHAGUA VALLEYApalta is located 170 Kilometers South West of Santiago in the Colchagua Valley. The Vineyard is situated on a North to South exposure, which is quite rare in Chile. The Tinguiririca river rests on one side and the hills from the Coastal Cordillera surround the vineyard like a horseshoe on the other and are both integral in forming this unique terroir. This geography is responsible for the conditions that ensure balance for our vines and a slow ripening for the grapes. At sunrise and sunset, the hills block the suns rays, limiting the vines exposure to intense sunshine and the river has a cooling influence on the climate. Apalta has special meso-climate that is different from the rest of Colchagua Valley. Its climate could be described as Semi-dry Mediterranean; with a winter only rainy season and a long dry summer season.Rains are highly concentrated during the winter reaching over 550 mm in on average. During the growing season Oct-April, we have beautiful days and warm temperatures with no rain. There are cool breezes in the afternoons and the night-time temperatures are cold. We benefit from a wide temperature fluctuation between night and day; which is a key quality factor for color and tannins our red wines. Slow maturation allows the grapes to reach their ideal maturity with high concentration and character, preserving the fruit and high levels of natural acidity, ensuring a long ageing potential.THE SOILThere is a great diversity in the soils throughout, but in general our Cuvee Alexandre Carmenere comes from two main areas of our Apalta vineyard Hillside Vineyards with Colluvial Granitic soil great fruit concentration and acidity. Lower areas with colluvial soils Smooth and juicy tannins and color.VINTAGE CONDITIONS IN 2012This 2012 vintage brought great conditions for growing our Carmenere in Apalta. No precipitation was recorded during this harvest season, and high temperatures during the summer and fall resulted in earlier than normal ripening and harvest. Rainfall was never a concern during this harvest. Concerning the temperatures in spring, September was exceptionally hot. It was a small summer in the middle of the spring. October and November were just a little bit warmer and permitted a nice flowering of our grapevines. Summer started warmer than usual in December. However cool nights refreshed the ambient, raised air humidity, producing more color in the berries and preserve their natural acidity. The ripeness came earlier than usual. We harvested the red varieties 3 weeks earlier to achieve the right level of ripeness.WINEMAKINGAs a general winemaking philosophy, in our Cuvee Alexandre Carmenere we look for elegance, balance and ageing potential. Express the terroir of Apalta is our mission; so our winemaking philosophy remains very natural process with minimal intervention. Our key points are 100% hand harvesting in small cases of 14 kilos, strict fruit selection by 75% optical state of the art grape selection, Vistalys and 25% hand destemming of the grapes at our Clos Apalta Winery; gentle extraction methods and a judicious use of oak to preserve the fruit but integrate the complexity that a wine of this quality deserves. To enhance the aromatic characteristics of Carmenere, we add a 4% of Merlot. The wine was aged for 9 months in French oak barrels of different uses. All fermentations were made with native yeast.TASTING NOTESColor Deep inked red purple color.Nose Expressive and intense nose, ripe black fruit aromas, spicy notes such as black pepper and bitter chocolate. Well integrated oak. Palate Balanced and elegant. Velvety texture. Medium tannins structure with a round mid palate and a long finish.Service and Food Pairing Cellar for several years or decant and serve at 16C 60F. Ideal companion for elaborated dishes such as marinated duck breast and well seasoned angus steak.Region/District Colchagua Valley, Chile. Lapostolle Apalta Vineyard.Grape Variety 96% Carmenere; 4% Merlot.VINEYARDClimate data Average Max Temp 23 C; 74 F.Average Min Temp 7 C; 45 F.Average Rainfall 550 mm.Vineyard Management Organic and Biodynamic vineyard management.Organic Certified vineyard by CERES.Biodynamic Certified vineyard by DEMETER.High density plantation 6.666 pl/ hectare.Non grafted vines, masal selection. YieldsAverage 4.500 Kg/heor 1,8 Tons/acre.Leaf removal and green harvest to fine tune yields.Vertical trellis system with double guyot pruning.100% hand harvested in small cases of 14 kilos.Harvested from the 14th of March to 26th of April, 2012.WINEMAKINGGrapes Selection 75% Cluster selection by hand and optical berries selection by Vistalys.25% Hand de-stemming at Clos Apalta Winery.Fermentation 100% Wild yeast.Fermentation in stainless steel tanks and wooden vats, skin contact up to 4-5 weeks.AGEINGAgeing 100% of the blend in 225L French oak for 9 months. Barrel use 58% in new oak. 12% in second use and30% 3rd use.Coopers Saury, Sylvain, Radoux, Seguin Moreau, Demptos mainly.Most medium toast.Fining and filtering Light plate sheet filtration before bottling.PRODUCTION Date of Bottling From august, 2013. Cases produced 6.506 cases of 12 bottles 0,75 lts.” – Casa Lapostolle
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