The Preamble
I first tasted Clos Du Val wines at the California Wine Tour a few years ago. The next one is coming up April 8th.
Anyway, my wife and I both enjoyed their selection, and as I do – when I seen it at Vintages – I HAD to buy one to try!
Clos Du Val wines seem to garner critical acclaim, and from what I can tell, this acclaim is well deserved. In February of 2011, The New York Times sampled 20 Napa Valley ’07 Cabernets priced under $100. The ‘07 Clos du Val Cabernet ranked 3rd was deemed to have the “Best Value” of the bunch.
Like many wineries they make many levels of their wines. The one we had was from the Classic line, their entry level. They have 3 more tiers: Winemaker’s Signature, Reserve and the Flagship/SLD line.
We drank the 2007, it seems the 2008 is out at Vintages now. There are not many left, but can find them with this number 652925.
In the bottle you’ll find 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. It was aged for a total of 18 months in French oak barrels (25% new).
Note: this is a 375 mL bottle for $19.95.
The alcohol is 13% alcohol/volume and the sugar content is 3 g/L, and it’s considered a dry red wine.
The Review
In the glass – a deep rich, plurply red.
In the nose – there was cocoa, blackberries and vanilla.
In the mouth – layers of black currents, herbs, earth and spice. The tannins were robust and the finish was medium in length.
For me and my wife, this represented the quintessential California Cabernet nose that we both love (although slightly, just slightly understated than other BIG Californian Cabs). From there, we knew that the flavour would follow suit.
I can recommend this for two reasons. One, at 375 mL, it’s perfect when you don’t want a 750 mLs. And two, it tastes great. But, like I said above, it’s $19.95 for a half bottle.
Grape Stains by Jimmy 