Clos Apalta "Prelude" Apalta Red 2023

James Suckling : 95 Points

(4/13/2025) Lovely freshness from this warm year, with good depth and concentration. Fresh cherries, blackberries, paprika, spices and tapenade on the nose. Juicy and almost full-bodied on the palate, with melted, dusty tannins and a long finish. 50% carmenere, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 10% merlot. About 16 months in barrels, of which 18% were new oak and the rest is second-use. Drink from 2026.

Wine Advocate : 91 Points

(8/28/2025) The 2023 Prelude opens with a quintessentially Carménère-driven nose of ripe red fruits, dried herbs and spices against a lush backdrop of roasted coffee and black licorice aromas. The palate is seamless and polished, concluding with a similarly svelte finish framed with powdery tannins and a creamy undercurrent. This is a blend of 50% Carménère, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. Drink Date: 2025 - 2031.

Vinous - Joaquin Hidalgo : 92 Points

(6/2025) The 2023 Prelude is a blend of 50% Carménère, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot from Apalta. This aged for 17 months in 10% new and 90% second and third use French oak barrels. It opens with delicate ash and pyrazine notes alongside blackberry and a touch of currant, supported by well-integrated oak. Dry and broad, with a mid-palate richness, this delivers a profile of black fruit and barrel spice. The 2023 is a red with medium concentration, polished grip and a fruit-forward finish. It should improve in bottle - this is an elegant stylistic exercise from Clos Apalta. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035.

Decanter : 91 Points

(7/6/2025) So aromatic, dark black fruit, bramble berries - ripe and heady, deep and seductive. Damson plum, earthy scents, wet soil and a touch of gunsmoke. Intensely perfumed blackcurrants, liquorice and black chocolate. Svelte and streamlined with soft, well-integrated tannins and gorgeous fruit purity - keeps a streamlined structure. Poised, lovely delicacy, nothing overblown. There’s power but also restraint. Some granite and pencil lead minerality really adds the salinity and touch of metalicism as well as spice and toast accent the fruit but overall stay in the background. Ends on a toasted liquorice note. Great quality. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2033.

Wine Spectator : 91 Points

(4/30/2026) This opens with aromas of dried sage, anise and brambly berries, while hints of apple wood weave through the blackberry and plum core, which offers good density, lingering on the finish around broad, ripe tannins, backed by a late hint of toast. Carmenère, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2036. 6,000 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.