2018 Le Petit Clos (Clos Apalta)

53% Carmenère, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot. Bright ruby colour. Very herbal on the nose. This follows on the palate, which has notes of vine tomatoes, rosemary and blackcurrant leaf. A little skinny and grainy. (TP)

The 2018 Le Petit Clos, a second wine born in 2014, was produced with a blend of 53% Carmenere, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot from organically and biodynamically certified vineyards even if the bottled doesn't carry the seals. It's ripe and powerful with the Apalta signature, earthy and stony. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in oak vats and matured in French barriques for some 22 months. It's full-bodied with a lush texture and round tannins, a softer version of the 2016. 89,472 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2020.

The blend sees more than half Carmenere, and the character of that variety dominates the palate with its acidity, its white pepper freshness and its raspberry leaf fragrance. Chewy tannins and a long finish show the structure in this 2nd wine made from the youngest vines of the estate. 2018 is a great vintage in Chile and even with the trace of heat on the finish, this is an enjoyable easy drinker from Domaines Bournet-Lapostelle.