Casa Lapostolle, Apalta (Colchagua Valley, Chile) Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

 Sometime in the mid-to-late 2000s, I attended a presentation of the wines from Casa Lapostolle, a winery located in the tiny, half-moon shaped Apalta Valley of Chile’s larger Colchagua Valley, to the south of Santiago.  Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, owner with her husband Cyril de Bournet, presented the wines and spoke of some of the issues they encountered in creating the winery in 1994.  For example, the workers in the vineyards were appalled and resistant when asked to thin grape bunches from the vines.  The aim was, and still is, to ensure ripeness of the remaining bunches and concentrate the flavors.  Today the vineyards are biodynamically farmed and Demeter Certified.  Newly harvested grapes are removed from their stems by hand, rather than using a machine.  The emphasis is on growing the best grapes and processing them with care.  The quality and intensity of this wine is the result of care and attention given from the vineyard to the bottle.  It displays a deep ruby color.  Aromas of blackberries, black cherry, mingle with cassis and mocha.  It is smooth and lush in the mouth with black fruit, cassis and a bit of mocha lifted by crisp acidity and completed with silky smooth tannins.  Serve it with grilled meats, sausage-stuffed portobello mushrooms, an aged gouda.