I flew to Santiago with the aim of doing what I find most difficult, but what is so necessary for me: resting. I spent two nights being pampered at the Clos Apalta winery, a Relais & Châteaux owned by the Lapostolle family, the creators of Grand Marnier liqueur.

The winery is located in the Colchagua Valley, two and a half hours from the capital, in one of the most important wine regions in Chile.

The family’s story in Chile began with Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle in the early 1990s. The business is now run by her son, Charles-Henri de Bournet, who explains how his mother ended up in Chile.

My mother, Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, always dreamed of making the perfect wine. She spent years searching for an exceptional terroir with the goal of creating a unique wine. That was 25 years ago. After traveling across continents, she found the perfect place in the Apalta Valley. To make her dream a reality, she listened to the mountains and the air, felt the extraordinary potential of the place, and then trained it.

This is how Clos Apalta was born, a Chilean interpretation of a Grand Cru from Bordeaux. Clos Apalta’s distinguishing feature is the carménère grape – originating in Bordeaux and now a symbol of Chile – but its entire manufacturing method and the style it aims to achieve is French. It’s a wine that combines power with elegance, like a boxer’s punch wearing a velvet glove.

I started my day at the winery by taking a short trail to feel the land. The scents I smelled in the air made me realize that I was in a special place. I later discovered that the winery is in a “semi-Mediterranean” microclimate, with winter rains and a long, dry summer, allowing the grapes to reach perfect ripeness. In technical terms, this thermal oscillation favors the accumulation of anthocyanins, giving depth and richness to the wines.

After the walk, I returned to the room to change clothes. The room – there are only 10 in total – is actually a 200 m² house, with a private pool overlooking the vineyard.

I returned to the main building for breakfast, where eggs, homemade jams, on-site yogurt, fresh juices, and seasonal fruits were some of the items displayed in a very charming room.

Fed, I went to the city market with Cristhian, the hotel’s chef. We bought some seasonal ingredients, which we later used to cook lunch. The market is in Santa Cruz, the largest city in the region, with 40,000 inhabitants. We took a stroll through the main square, whose colonial architecture is well preserved.

Lunch, like all meals at Clos, was fantastic. We started with octopus, followed by a sea bass served with mushroom risotto, and finished with a dessert made from green apples. All dishes were accompanied by excellent wines, carefully chosen by sommelier Dragan. I later found out during the wine tasting we did at night that he comes from the Balkans!

To digest the feast, I wandered through the vineyards with Daniel Larrondo, the hotel’s assistant manager. He told me about the place’s history and gave me a lesson on how soil, water, and topography are crucial for wine production. From there come the Clos Apalta and Petit Clos – which travel worldwide – and others that are exclusive for local sales, like the Clos du Lican.

There is a part of the winery – where the wines labeled “La Parcelle 8” come from – where the vines are over 100 years old.

It was a quick visit, but enough for me to return rested to São Paulo – of course, with a case of wines to ease the longing.


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