2018 Lapostolle "Cuveé Alexandre - Apalta Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley

Drinking this wine reminds me of the experience of drinking a second-label from a really good Bordeaux estate. With a touch more New World fruit, that's basically what's going on here but for a lot less money. The wine isn't about new wood or sheer power, but there's plenty to chew on and plenty of genuine expression. This doesn't drink like a mass-produced wine because it isn't made that way. I like Chilean Cab and this is as good as it gets for $20, here or probably anywhere.

This is a very evocative wine. It makes me think of a mixed blackberry pie sitting on the counter cooling off with a gentle breeze blowing in from the window bringing with it the scent of fresh herbs. The nose is mouthwatering. The palate is full and round. The tannins are soft and fine making the wine too easy to sip on. The fruit is toned down on the palate, it is still dark but with a little more cherry and cassis mixed into the darker berries. There is a soft caress of French oak, it delivers more texture than flavors but the faint baking spice reminds me of the pie that I first smelled. There is a smattering of dusty herbs that peak through on the finish which helps add complexity on the finish. This wine offers incredible value. This is sourced from a single vineyard that is located in one of the best sites for red wine is all of Chile, the Apalta Valley. That vineyard was planted in 1920, the fruit is Biodynamically grown, it is all hand harvested, and then optically sorted at the winery. After a gentle pressing the wine spends 14 months in French oak. They want to showcase the great fruit so only a small percentage is new. A ridiculous amount of effort went into this wine and we are selling it for a ridiculous price.

When I first got into the industry I had a boss that told me wine tasting is all about nostalgia; attaching what you smell to a memory of some sort helps nail down the note. This is a bottle full of nostalgia to me, harkening back to a time in my youth around blackberry bushes, eucalyptus trees, and dusty soil. The berry on the nose is like a berry pie surrounded by green herbs and eucalyptus and an almost Rioja-esque dust. The palate is bright and lively up front with all those berry notes. It moves into a darker, more serious mixture of tannin, savory tobacco, roasted poblano peppers, and dusty earth. This is a really serious cab for $22 that is both approachable and still somehow brooding!

Classic New World Cab, but with a softness and ease you’d expect from the Western Hemisphere productions found above the equator rather than below it. Blackberry, dried strawberry and faint fresh tobacco combine for an easy to appreciate nose that transitions to a mirror palate with only the welcome additions of limestone and basil that tighten up the proceedings nicely. Made to drink now, and ready pretty shortly after opening, this would be best with a hearty meat dish, but plenty of local wine lovers reared on Napa and Paso would find everything to like about this in the park paired with a cheese plate and company. It's definitely going home with friends and family.