TASTING NOTES
This iconic Merlot has an expressive nose, with fresh black fruit aromas, spices, red pepper and bitter chocolate. The palate is smooth and well balanced, with a generous structure and a long finish.
PRODUCER
Lapostolle is owned by the Marnier-Lapostolle family (of Grand Marnier fame), and since the winery’s foundation in 1994 has pursued an uncompromising approach to quality. Their objective is simple as it is ambitious: to create world-class wines using French expertise and the superb terroir of Chile.
VINEYARD
Grapes for this cuvée are all grown in Lapostolle’s Apalta vineyard, certified organic and biodynamic. It is situated on a north-south exposure, has a river on one side, and hills surrounding the rest of the vineyard like a horseshoe. Soils for the Merlot vines are a mixture of colluvial granitic and alluvial/sandy, while the Carmenère is grown on sandy, well-drained, poor soil.
WINERY
Following a manual harvest, grapes underwent a strict selection, by both bunch and berry. Wild-yeast fermentation in both stainless steel and wooden vats lasted for 4-5 weeks, with skin contact throughout. The wine was aged for nine months in French oak barrels, with fifty-nine percent new wood, and was then bottled without fining, and only the lightest of filtrations.