Opened last night pop and pour. I admit to buying this solely on the WS rating back in the day. Got a solid case for maybe $40 a bottle at Costco on release and have enjoyed about half of them so far.
Color is starting to fade a bit to light purple with a tinge of bricking. Nose is losing the floral component and moving toward a forest floor/rustic undertone. Palate is cherry with some smoke, graphite and leather. Tannic bite has calmed down quite a bit since release and there is no noticable heavy oak. I think the bottle is in a good place now and should be consumed sooner rather than later.
FWIW, I still prefer Don Melchor over the Clos Apalta as my favorite S.A. wine…even though they are two different varietals.
2001 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta
Inky purple in color. A blend of predominantly Carmenere and Merlot I believe. The nose has iodine, black raspberries, dust, rosemary and violets. Nice juicy texture that is inviting to drink. Tannic. The fruit has faded a bit and this wine has a Bordeaux like complexity to it. Some heat on the finish. Got better with air. 50+4+13+18+7=92
Hi Bill!!
I had the 05’ last year but not the 01’. Was Michel Rolland the wine consultant for the 01’ vintage?? I don’t know what point he came aboard Casa Lapostolle. Re the 05’, my first encounter with the wine was that it was big, reasonably complex and had Rolland’s new world touch on it. It was more of a fun than cerebral wine but of course it was still young. If I can find any TN’s I will post them on this thread. I liked the wine but honestly was at a loss how Wine Spectator chose this as the wine of the year for 2008…oops silly me, I keep thinking they really know about wine [rolleyes.gif]
Good to hear. I thought the bottle Kyle served us back about 15 months ago was showing awfully young. I would have thought it would need more time to really get into a more obvious drinking window. Good to hear, though.