Clos du Lican,
The magical rocks.
“There will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones;
it all depends on how you use them.”
Clos du Lican is our hidden gem vineyard in the Apalta Valley, specifically in the San Jose area. Recognized as an official DO since May 2018, the Apalta Valley is known throughout Chile for the superb quality of its red wines. The region’s particular terroir makes for very elegant, complex wines with great structure, depth, color and an excellent ageing potential.
Omnipresent along the roads and in the landscape, rocks play a vital role in the development of the vineyard.
They are the silent witness of our past, present and future.
This vineyard brings us way back in time where you can feel Mother Nature’s energy and wisdom.
A place where soil, climate, aspect and altitude encounter with human’s pugnacity, resilience and inexhaustible confidence in the future. It draws attention to the importance of the past, traditions passed down from generation to generation,
and culture. This can only bring us to reflection, admiration and pure joy.
The soul
of Clos du Lican
Clos du Lican is part of the family owned and world-renowned Domaines Bournet-Lapostolle portfolio.
The Clos du Lican project was initiated in 2004 by Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband Cyril de Bournet when they started breaking ground for another vineyard in Apalta, only 5 kilometers away from Clos Apalta, to plant 15ha of Syrah to produce a 100% single vineyard wine.
Mr Jacques Marnier Lapostolle, Alexandra’s father, personally came to Chile in June 2006 to have a better understanding of the project’s reach and scope while he said it would take a miracle to pull this project off.
The Clos du Lican 2019, first vintage ever produced was launched by Charles de Bournet, 7th generation of the Marnier Lapostolle family in March 2022 who is now leading Domaines Bournet-Lapostolle in its newest chapter of innovation, punctuated by the official recognition of the Apalta DO in 2018.
Clos du Lican is the achievement of 3 generations of passion, hard work and dedication.
“What is exciting to be part of a family business and going through the generations is that you’re part of something greater than yourself and it’s very humbling. You are only as good as the previous generations and what you’re doing right now is harvesting the fruit of their efforts that were done before you, but also setting the foundations for the future successors”. Charles de Bournet
I
The
Rocks
The land was originally covered with huge granite stones. Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband Cyril the Bournet felt instantly under the spell of this magical site; carried by their vision, they started a gigantic work to shape the vineyard foot by foot. As Cathedral builders would have done a thousand years ago, they lifted those rocks and moved them around to create this sacred land of vine.
Apalta has incredibly old soils which originated mainly in the Cretaceous (145-66 MY) from granitic and granodioritic material. On the hillside, the soils present angular stones, well decomposed with moderate to fine texture and clay underlying subsoils. On the semi and flatter areas, colluvial and some old alluvial material, with a thicker texture (sandy to sandy loam) and quartz gravel in the whole profile. The overall vineyard benefits from a good drainage with slopes of 2 to 15%.
Clos du Lican brings together a multitude of micro-terroirs presenting an almost complete sample of the local rock make-up.
With a range of 150 to 300 m height, the vineyard offers incredible complexity potential cementing the uniqueness of our wine.
II
The Living
Terroir
As the terroir is a living matter, Clos du Lican has opened up to organics in the gentlest possible way.
From then on, helping to preserve the natural and pure feel of the different terroirs became an absolute priority. The vineyard receives the best care possible.
“Our organic vision is to protect not only the purity of the fruit in our wines, but also the purity of our environment and the people who work in our vineyards. Inspired by our experience in biodynamic vineyard management, we allow the terroir and wines to truly work in harmony with each other. The area becomes self-sufficient: soil, plants, people and wildlife interact in a closed and autonomous system”.
III
The
Artisans
It is unconceivable to elude the human contribution when it comes to Terroir. The transmission of what can sometimes be ancestral practices and traditions, passed on from generation to generation, plays a key role in the fashioning process of a unique Terroir. Winemaking is innately an activity led by people, where at every single stage of the making, choices must be made while facing a multitude of possibilities.
« Our project is in the hands of an amazing group of people who only thrive while crafting wines with
passion. Each individual involved in this adventure brings its own personal touch. Producing wine involves constant and truthful efforts: you must use your heart, your head and your hands. We source inspiration from Nature and our craving for genuineness. In this human history of wine, vines are organic material constantly pushing us forward in our pursuit of perfection. »
In the vineyards, an intensive work over the season is key to have the best quality grapes we can possibly have get to our wines: we can mention soil management, afternoon sun leaf removal, several green harvests to finish with night hand harvesting to preserve the integrity and aromas of the grapes that arrive nicely chilled at sunrise to the wineries.
As a general winemaking philosophy, we look for elegance, balance and ageing potential. Our winemaking philosophy remains a very natural process with minimal intervention, no corrections of any kind, wild yeasts fermentation, gentle extraction and a minimum filtration.
Address : Ruta 90 km 36 Cunaquito,
VI Región, Chile.
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Office : Monday – Friday
8.00am – 5.30pm
Boutique : Monday – Sunday
9.30am – 5.30pm
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Phone : +56722953300
Email : info@closdulican.com