The Drink Business
par Colin Hay le 02/09/2024
Clos Apalta Prélude 2022 (Apalta Valley, Colchagua, Chile; 53% Carménère; 36% Cabernet Sauvignon; 7% Merlot; 4% Petit Verdot; pH 3.6; 14.5% alcohol; tasted at the CVBG press tasting over Zoom with Andrea Leon, technical director; 3000 cases made). A third wine in effect, this the first vintage, from the young vines and lower altitude parcels from the valley floor. Quite a cool vintage, but more solaire and sunny than the 2021 vintage wines. Beautifully fresh and lifted in its leafiness. Very pretty and expressive. Vertical and lifted. A clay, earthy minerality. Blackcurrant and red currant leaf, a little bramble too; a little blueberry; but also a little raspberry and redcurrant. I love the leafiness here. Mainly Carménère, with a little Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Quite tight to the spine and with grippy tannins that accentuate that. Authentic and with a lovely intensity for a wine at this level. Vivid. Juicy and succulent and that’s very much the style sought here. Pure, focussed, precise but without the complexity of the grands vins. 93.