It’s only a 2-3 hour drive from Santiago so this is how some of the big money is spent here. Apparently the horse crowd are popular now so there are lots of horses around and lots of activities for yuppie puppies and horses.
We are up at 8 and off to a lovely breakfast cooked to order here at 9. Our first winery visit is not until 12:30 so we enjoy sitting in the garden in the sun, watching the many varieties of birds and enjoying the nice surroundings.
At 12:30 it is off to Lapostolle, yes, relation of the huge French corporation. But named Clos Apalta, after the region here, it’s the prestige line. It’s $40 a pop to have the tour and tasting and I’d have to say it was not worth it. It’s a fantastic location, up on a hill overlooking acres of vines. Security is tight, you are on their list to get in the gate.
The winery built over 3 years in 2005 is an architectural wonder. Built right into the rocks, it is earthquake proof. Not a minor thing as we were shocked to see a huge stainless steel tank crushed like a cokecan at Balducci this week. We did not really get the advantage of the views from there as it was too foggy to see the snow capped Andes in the distance. The marketing photos look great!
The 5 story winery linked with a magnificent spiral staircase featured in one of Ali & Rob’s photos, if we remember correctly. Everything is done as esthetically pleasing as possible, no mechanical equipment in sight, all hidden somehow in the gravity feed system. A marvel of modern technology and architecture for sure.
Our very knowledgeable guide Ferdinand certainly educated us about the care and handpicking attention to every wee grape that goes into their products, as opposed to the 2.5million production at sister winery Lapostolle down the road.
Today - well this morning at 4am to be precise - they are picking Merlot to keep the grapes cool, skins tight. They then hand select clusters, remove overripe berries by hand. This is selection of only the best, taken to passionate if not rabid levels.
Everything is done for maximum efficiency. Nothing is left to chance. With the big operation just a few Kos away, they simply bring in the equipment they need for the short term processing of the grapes. Even though screw caps have been proven to be more efficient, they would to dream of using them on their premium wines!
Since we are in harvest time all systems are in go mode. We see the punching down of the big tanks, and also the ladies lovingly removing overripe grapes one by one on a conveyor.
Here rain is the big enemy and with clouds gathering,
We finish in the COLD 14degree cellar where our guide, surprisingly, pours 3 wines to taste, 2 from their inferior Lapostolle range (how come???) and one of their own 2103 Carmenere blend. For $40 a pop, we expected better!
There are only 4 of us on this English tour. The other two are from Exeter and Sally is from Sidmouth a few miles from Ted’s birthplace! Small world.
There is a resto here and hotel. You can do tour, tasting and lunch for US$100 a pop. We passed.
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