2017 Cabernet Sauvignon

One of the earliest wineries in the now famous Stags Leap district, Clos du Val was founded in 1972 by American businessman John Goelet and French-born winemaker Bernard Portet. Bernard’s father had been manager at Chateau Lafite, where he and his brother Dominique were raised. Clos du Val began life as 150 acres of vineyards on some of the finest land in the Stags Leap district. In 1973, an additional 180 acres of vineyards were purchased in the cool-climate Carneros region.

This wine is made from a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc and 7% Merlot. The vines for this predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon blend are up to 29 years old and grow in gravelly clay loam. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with 2 pumpovers daily. The wine is aged in French and Hungarian oak barrels for 20 months, 65% of which is new oak.

Classic Napa Cabernet. The colour is a deep garnet and the wine has aromas of black fruits, cedar wood, dark chocolate and leather. The palate is rich and complex with supple blackcurrant fruits and more complex characters of wood spice. The texture is focused with well structured tannins and great acidity. A wine that drinks brilliantly now and will age well for the next decade.