Benjamin 2935, Of. 801
Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
See a more recent (September 2002)
review of this producer's wines here
This Rapel-based producer specializes in premium wines, and employs
Pomerol-based Michel Rolland as consultant winemaker. This may explain
why there's a hint of European classiness to some of the wines, along
with the pure, up-front fruit that we've come to expect from Chile.
This is one of my favourite Chilean producers, and I was pretty
impressed with most of the wines. My only real criticism is that the
Cuvée Alexandre Chardonnay was clearly entering a declining phase;
it's still impressive, but would have been a great deal better a year
or two ago, I suspect. This seems to be a common feature of
modern-style Chilean whites: they are often protected from oxygen so
carefully during the winemaking process that you really have to drink
them as young as possible, before they begin to oxidise.
Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc 2000
An impressive new world Sauvignon in a modern style. Huge nose of
ripe grapefruit and gooseberry, with a bit of that rather
technological 'boiled sweets' edge. Soft, sweetly fruited and richly
textured on the palate. Very good+
Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay 1999
For me, this is one of the classiest Chilean Chardonnays around.
Delicious ripe nose of tropical fruit and toasty oak. Richly textured
with nice balance on the palate. Ripe and full, but not overdone. Very
good/excellent
Casa Lapostolle Cuvée Alexandre Chardonnay 1997
I think this ambitious wine would have been better two years ago!
Golden colour. Exotic, ripe nose with some oxidation evident. Complex,
full, powerful and ripe on the palate, but beginning to show signs of
decline. Very good+
Casa Lapostolle Merlot 1999
Very attractive leafy cherry fruit on the nose. Nice balance on
the palate with abundant leafy blackcurrant fruit. A bit Loire-like.
Honest! Very good
Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
Nose is dominated by leafy blackcurrant fruit. Pure fruit and firm
tannins on the palate. Good/very good
Casa Lapostolle Cuvée Alexandre Cabernet Sauvignon 1997
Knockout nose of sweet black fruit. The concentrated palate
combines pure fruit and spicy tannins. Chunky and sweet. Very god+
Casa Lapostolle Cuvée Alexandre Merlot 1998
An attractive, full-on wine. Beautiful sweet spicy nose leads to a
dense, ripe palate of sweet fruit and firm tannin. Very good/excellent
Wines tasted: November 2000 at Decanter
Fine Wine Encounter
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