Clos Du Val Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
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Deep purple-black in color, the 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon displays aromas of black currant, cassis and spice. This powerful, full bodied wine is packed with the rich flavors of ripe dark fruit. Tannins are silky and smooth, resulting in a seamless yet intense wine of structure and balance. Enjoy this Cabernet Sauvignon now, or age it for an additional 5-10 years.
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Clos du Val has gone as far as they intend to in order to make a ripe, opulent Cab in the modern Napa cult style. But they remain faithful to their Bordeaux-inspired house style, which is leaner and more tannic than most. The result is a natural cellar candidate, with an official alcohol of only 13.5%. Rich in blackberries and black currants, this wine should easily develop over the next 10–15 years.
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The vibrant color and complex flavor depth make an immediate impression, but it takes two days of air for the elegance and detail of the wine to completely show. Until then, it seems a little self-consciously important, posturing with lots of face paint from new oak and spicy curves right under your nose. The oak integrates with air, and the freshness of the wine wins out over any affectations it displays for immediate drinking. This is, in fact, built for the long haul.
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Clos Du Val, French for “small vineyard estate of a small valley,” was founded in 1972, an era that wine writer Hugh Johnson referred to as “the turning point in modern wine history.” Two years before, the Goelet family tasked talented French-born winemaker Bernard Portet with finding vineyard land, anywhere in the world, capable of producing a world-class Cabernet Sauvignon.
Clos Du Val’s legendary debut Cabernet Sauvignon was one of only six California Cabernets selected for the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris Tasting, where California defeated some of Bordeaux’s finest wines. Ten years later, Clos Du Val’s reputation for creating some of Napa Valley's most gracefully age-worthy wines was solidified, when its 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon took first place in the Judgment of Paris rematch.
Still family-owned today, Clos Du Val farms 220 acres of estate vineyards in the Stags Leap District, and Yountville appellations and continues to craft wines of balance and complexity, showcasing the fruit from the outstanding terroir on which the estate lies.