CASA LAPOSTOLLE

Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, great-granddaughter of the creator of Grand Marnier, is the force behind Lapostolle, a spectacular winery overlooking Apalta Vineyards in the Colchagua Valley in Chile. The Marnier Lapostolle family, founders of the world-renowned liqueur Grand Marnier, is famous for producing spirits and liqueurs, but the family has also been involved in winemaking for generations. The Chilean chapter of the family was founded by Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband Cyril de Bournet in 1994. Now managed by the 7th generation, Charles-Henri de Bournet. Their vineyards in Apalta are now certified organic and bio, though the wines are not labelled that way, the grapes are certified, not the winery. These wines are very much Chilean terroir and French expertise. The consultant is Michel Rolland, known well in Bordeaux. These are wines that have been seen in NZ before, though not for many years. The top wine, Clos Apalta, is not in the latest shipment, as it has a different route to market, through Bordeaux. As well as making world glass wines, they also have a 5 star hotel and resort at the winery and make amazing Pisco.

Andrea León

The Chilean wine industry has undergone much change in the last fifteen to twenty years, its evolution not dissimilar to that of New Zealand’s. Over this time, Chile has made a name for itself on the world stage, recognised for wines sitting at both the value and the premium ends of the market. 20 years ago, the concept of women working high-level roles in wine, particularly in the context of Chile’s patriarchally-inclined society, would have been unthinkable. Andrea León Iriate studied agricultural engineering in Santiago, where she double majored in economics and oenology & viticulture. She eventually left Chile to gain vinous experience in America, Europe and New Zealand. On her return, Andrea worked at Santa Helena in Colchagua before joining Lapostolle in 2005 as the on-site winemaker for Clos Apalta. In 2020 she took charge of the technical and winemaking operations for Domaines Bournet-Lapostolle, a demanding job that involves extended periods of time apart from family. Lapostolle was founded by Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, great-granddaughter of the creator of Grand Marnier, and her husband Cyril de Bournet. In 2005 their iconic wine, Clos Apalta, made history as the first and, to date, only South American wine to be ranked No.1 in Wine Spectator’s celebrated Top 100 Wines.