“The old-vine character comes through clearly here” - James Suckling, 98 Points

Okie dokie, Clos Apalta junkies. La Parcelle 8 is back. And it’s cheaper than last year.

$89, down from $185. That’s $96 back in your pocket, and more than half off.

You gobbled it up last year as an Appy Hour wine. So when this offer crossed our desks, we got special permission to give it a well-deserved full feature treatment.

Lapostolle sits atop the pantheon of collectible Chilean wine. It has stayed there since its founding in 1994, earning more than six 100 point scores and dozens of 99’s and 98’s along the way. And it raised the bar for other greats like Almaviva and Don Melchor.

The Parcelle 8? The absolute PEAK of their lineup. Scale to the top of the Cabernet mountain with us. Then base jump back down to a modest price elevation!

It comes from the same estate and the same winemaking team as Clos Apalta. That’s a former Wine Spectator #1 Wine of the Year, and the #6 wine on Wine Spectator’s Top 100.

As James Suckling says, “there’s no doubt that Clos Apalta is one of the world’s greatest red wines.”

Wine Spectator emphasized “the wine’s price has remained relatively modest through the years, considering the investment behind it, particularly so in comparison to prices for benchmark wines from regions such as Bordeaux, Napa and Tuscany.”*

Parcelle 8 is the sibling with the older roots. It’s the oldest vine block on the Clos Apalta estate. Ungrafted Cabernet, planted in 1907, just before the Ford Model T rolled out.

By the time this vintage was picked, those vines had thrived for 114 years. They made up the backbone of their perfect-scoring bottling. They still do to this day.

But starting in 2015, the family decided those vines were too good to just be blended. So they bottle them on their own, and only in great years.

Could this be the most fascinating Cab ever overseen by the ubiquitous Michel Rolland? We thought so. Vinous called it “…a serious, complex Cabernet with a nod to Bordeaux.”

The wine? It’s a beauty.

Almost electric on the palate, concentrated but never heavy. Flavors of black fruit, wild herbs, and high-quality toasted oak dance with balletic grace. A whole other animal. Gnarly, muscular, yet lifted and fresh, complex as the Da Vinci Code.

As usual, with such a beauty, there isn’t much to go around. This rarity begs for a spot in any Cabernet lover’s cellar. Especially at under $100!!!

Ahem… and it’s almost perfect, so be nimble…

98 Points – James Suckling “The old-vine character comes through clearly here, with bark and mushroom undertones to the blackberries and blueberries. Oyster shells with seaweed attached. It’s medium-bodied with chewy tannins that are medium-grained and tell the story of these old vines, most of which were planted in 1907. Give this four or five years to come around. Better after 2028, but it’s joyful to taste its potential and history.”