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by Manos Angelakis
 Clos Apalta Lodge.
Phone: +56 72 321 803
+56 2 426-9960
Email: closapaltacasas@casalapostolle.cl
The Apalta valley, just two hours southwest of Santiago, in the southern portion of the famous Rapel valley, is a premier Chilean winemaking area where many of the best Chilean wine producers have vineyards and bodegas (wineries).
Clos Apalta Winery & Lodge is the culmination of the dream of Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband, Cyril de Bournet, to create a world-class winery in Chile.
Built on the slope of a verdant hill, the lodge is open year round and is comprised of the Guest House, where a sumptuous living  room, a tasting room, and a dining room are located, and four “Casitas” on the hillside above the guest house, with spectacular views of the vineyards and the valley below. A wide terrace with market umbrellas and comfortable seating, elevated from the side of the guest house, is used for outdoor parties and other activities, and is where a waterfall and heated swimming pool are also located. In front of the guest house, a terrace is extending to a spectacular verandah, over the winery structure, and can be used to serve lunch and/or dinner al fresco. Each casita has been named for one of the primary red grape varieties planted at the Apalta vineyard, i.e. Casita Cabernet Sauvignon, Casita Merlot, Casita Carmenère, and Casita Petit Verdot.
The winery underneath, built inside the hill, creates outstanding wines (see Casa Lapostolle at The Oenophile Blog). A guest at the lodge can see how the wines are created, up close, and taste some of the premium and super premium examples both from the extensive library and en primeur (very young, out of the barrel, prior to bottling). It is one very good reason to book a casita at the lodge.
 The casitas are available either on a full pension basis, where an excellent local chef is brought in to create gourmet meals or on a bed and breakfast basis. The full program can also provide massage – relaxation or aromatherapy – or wine therapy, utilizing natural based wine products.
Each casita has a very large bedroom with either a king-size or two beds, a lower level living area with arm chairs, antique furnishings and a working fireplace, an outdoor verandah with spectacular views and wood and marble bathrooms with separate  bathtubs and shower stalls. Golf carts are available to transport guests from the guest house to the casitas up the hill or for the athletically inclined a few minutes uphill walk will bring you to your home-away-from-home. Large French doors open to verandahs with wooden decks and breakfast tables and armchairs. And, again, the views are spectacular from any window or door of the casita.
We had lunch, appetizers and dinner at Clos Apalta and the food was exceptional; fresh fish and seafood, succulent veal, beef, farm fresh vegetables and fruit. All the bounty of the Chilean countryside and the Pacific Ocean are prepared in sophisticated dishes. The Casa Lapostolle wines accompanied the meals. And, of course, Pisco Sours enhanced with a little Grand Marnier flowed, to my delight.
© March 2007 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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