Casa Lapostolle Le Petit Clos Apalta Red 2014 (750ML)

91 Points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "A different interpretation of the Apalta terroir through blending, the 2014 Le Petit Clos is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 30% Carmenere, 28% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. It aged in new French barriques for eight months followed by a further 18 months with equal parts in new barriques, used barriques and 7,500-liter oak vats. There is a little less oak here and more Cabernet in the first vintage of this second wine in the Bordeaux style. It's quite classical and faithful with the house style of ripe, concentrated and generously oaked wines. The palate shows plenty of tannins and oak-related flavors, spices, tobacco and roasted coffee. It ends with marked oak flavors." 4/17

93 Points, James Suckling: "A tight and linear red with blackcurrant and blueberry character. Hints of iron and oyster shell. Medium to full body. Focused. Refined. The second wine of Clos Apalta." 5/17

92 Points, Wine Enthusiast: "A black color and baked ripe-fruit aromas are the greeting on this second wine to Clos Apalta. While this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Merlot and Petit Verdot feels soft along the edges, it's propped up by tartaric acidity. Blackened flavors of saturated blackberry and cassis maintain lush ripeness across the finish." 12/17

93 Points, Wine & Spirits: "Petit Clos is the new younger brother of the classic carménère-based Clos Apalta, a second selection of the estate's old vineyards in El Condor de Apalta, where some of the vines are almost 100 years old. This blend is 30 percent carménère, while Clos is more than 70 percent. The balance of Petit is cabernet sauvignon (40 percent), merlot, as well as some petit verdot from younger vines. Dark cherry and dark, bitter chocolate lend a savory note to balance the lovely, sweet notes of blackberry in this wine, which is tighter, more focused and narrower than its big brother. It is fresher, too, but with a similar depth of flavor coming from these venerable old vines." 6/17

91 Points, Tim Atkin, MW: "This is the first vintage of this second wine, as it were, made from Clos Apalta's younger vines and aged in older wood. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Carmenere, Merlot and a splash of Petit Verdot, it's ripe, figgy and intense, with supple tannins and a warm finish." 3/18