2012 Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Carmenère

Region: Colchagua Valley, Chile. Lapostolle Apalta Vineyard.

Varietals: 96% Carmenère; 4% Merlot.

Tasting Color: Deep inked red purple color.

Nose: Expressive and intense nose, ripe black fruit aromas, spicy notes such as black pepper and bitter chocolate. Well integrated oak.

Mouth: Balanced and elegant. Velvety texture. Medium tannins structure with a round mid palate and a long finish.

Service and Food Pairing: Cellar for several years or decant and serve at 16°C (60°F). Ideal companion for elaborated dishes such as marinated duck breast and well seasoned Angus steak.

Harvest: This 2012 vintage brought great conditions for growing our Carmenère in Apalta. No precipitation was recorded during this harvest season, and high temperatures during the summer and fall resulted in earlier than normal ripening and harvest. Rainfall was never a concern during this harvest. Concerning the temperatures in spring, September was exceptionally hot. It was a small summer in the middle of the spring. October and November were just a little bit warmer and permitted a nice flowering of our grapevines. Summer started warmer than usual in December. However cool nights refreshed the ambient, raised air humidity, producing more color in the berries and preserve their natural acidity. The ripeness came earlier than usual. We harvested the red varieties 3 weeks earlier to achieve the right level of ripeness.

Vinification: As a general winemaking philosophy, in our Cuvée Alexandre Carmenère we look for elegance, balance and ageing potential. Express the terroir of Apalta is our mission; so our winemaking philosophy remains very natural process with minimal intervention. Our key points are 100% hand harvesting in small cases of 14 kilos, strict fruit selection by 75% optical state of the art grape selection, Vistalys and 25% hand de-stemming of the grapes at our Clos Apalta Winery; gentle extraction methods and a judicious use of oak to preserve the fruit but integrate the complexity that a wine of this quality deserves.

To enhance the aromatic characteristics of Carmenère, we add a 4% of Merlot. The wine was aged for 9 months in French oak barrels of different uses. All fermentations were made with native yeast.