The 2017 vintage marks the 20th Anniversary of this Iconic Wine that thrust Clos Apalta into the international spotlight.  2017 was shaped by persistent drought, and saw the lowest rainfall recorded at Clos Apalta over the past 15 years and the highest temperatures on record in Chile. This was a record-breaking vintage on every level.  These extreme conditions promoted deadly, tinderbox conditions for the propagation of devastating wildfires, with a total of 600,000 hectares of forest and scrubland destroyed as a result. To our great relief, our vines were spared and suffered no smoke damage, which was soon confirmed on tasting the different parcels of grapes.

Conditions for harvesting were excellent. The merlot was harvested from 23rd February to 13th March. The first cabernet sauvignon grapes were picked 8th – 9th March, while the first pre-phylloxera grapes were harvested 14th -17th March. With great quality grapes and really good weather, we were able to wait a further two weeks for the first Carmenère grapes, the last crates of which were brought in 25th April. The grapes were harvested entirely by hand in the cool of the morning to avoid high temperatures, then transported in trays, before rigorous destemming by hand, painstaking selection and no methods spared to keep the grapes whole.