Clos Apalta Winery is nestled just on the slopes of the Apalta hills, in the Colchagua Valley. In the midst of old vineyards that are managed in a totally organic and biodynamic way, this gravitational wine cellar -with six levels below ground and about 25 meters deep- was built especially to produce the iconic wine: Clos Apalta (one of the most prestigious in the world; it has won the most important international awards) and the new wine Le Petit Clos. In this cellar, each space is warmly illuminated, with sacred atmospheres that evoke the celestial vault and the constellation of the cross of the south, where the wine is impregnated day by day by the elements delivered by the wood.
When Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle and her husband first arrived in Chile’s Colchagua Valley, they quickly realized its potential for producing world-class wines. This ideal setting, which was revitalized in 1995, was home to vines originating from pre-phylloxera rootstock brought from Bordeaux in the 1800’s.
With legendary wine expertise, Alexandra brought exceptional French winemaking practices to Chile and pioneered the development of fine quality wines from the region. Additionally, organic and biodynamic practices have been implemented in the Apalta Vineyards, which means that no pesticides are used and that we work in tandem with the land to fertilize and cultivate crops that are 100% certified organic.
In its short history Clos Apalta and Lapostolle wines have consistently ranked highly (90+ points) among reputable wine trade publications, a testament of the rigorous standards implemented at the winery to produce outstanding wines. Some recent examples include:
The team responsible of Clos Apalta is Technical Director & Winemaker Jacques Begarie, under the advice of the famous winemaker Michel Rolland that is personally involved in the whole production of Clos Apalta.
These first-class wines find their home in an equally amazing winery at the Clos Apalta Residence property. Upon visiting the Clos Apalta Winery you’ll discover wine alchemy alongside immaculate architecture.
The unique design concept, developed by renowned Chilean architect, Roberto Benavente Riquelme, places emphasis on core values and commitment to the terroir and nature in relation to wine making. It all started with the excavation during the initial building process: instead of discarding the large rocks that were found at this time, they were instead converted into floor slabs and placed throughout the winery maintaining a harmonious relationship with nature.
The surrounding beams on the face of the building, of which there are exactly 24, represent the number of months it takes to produce the extraordinary wine, Clos Apalta, while the sundial on the roof of the winery is comprised of 5 granite stones. The stones are an allegory of the yearly biological cycle of the vine.
The construction was conceptualized so that the wine making process also naturally flowed downwards with the aid of gravity only. These small, but exact details create an organic space for the production and appreciation of the iconic Clos Apalta and Le Petit Clos.
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