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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.2 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 41 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Driller60 on 12/20/2023 & rated 80 points: Not great. Lost its mojo I would guess 5-7 years ago. Still drinkable. Soft and mellow plummy and soft worn leather notes. (139 views) | | | Tasted by jwhiggins on 1/30/2023 & rated 92 points: Given the 1998 vintage was about as lackluster as it gets for California Cabernet, this showed remarkably well while admirably representing its provenance. However, it is certainly tired at this point, and not worth holding onto if you still have any hand. Drink it up and use the empty slot to berth something more vibrant for the future. (165 views) | | | Tasted by Bmcatee on 11/18/2022 & rated 84 points: Relatively flat and past it’s prime. Still drinkable and decent (618 views) | | | Tasted by WoodieBayArea on 7/21/2018: NR as this came very late in the night, but remember it being easy drinking with some very nice body / fruit, really relaxed (faded purple-fruited jeans) but not so soft as to be flat... so easy to drink that it could be seen as simple but I liked it (2400 views) | | | Tasted by sababa1022 on 2/13/2017 & rated 92 points: Drinking beautifully. Nicely fruit forward. No rush. The drinking dates are wrong. (3265 views) | | | Tasted by focus on 3/19/2016 & rated 93 points: Super....had many old world flavors for a Napa cab....coffee, tobacco, mocha...really nice finish....wish I had more! (4005 views) | | | Tasted by focus on 5/13/2015 & rated 90 points: Still alive...tobacco, plum, cassis, musky, barn yard aromas. Full bodied for a wine this old. Med-long finish...pleased we found this! (4838 views) | | | Tasted by dars_blog on 4/22/2014 & rated 90 points: Opened up nicely over a couple of days. A velvety texture with supple aromas and flavors of dark fruits. (3960 views) | | | Tasted by Jgallup on 1/14/2014 & rated 80 points: Past its prime. Day 1 had some funk otherwise very good. Day 2 it was a goner. If you've got 'em, open 'em! (4010 views) | | | Tasted by sublime on 10/14/2013 & rated 79 points: Still some nose but thin, little or no fruit. Acidic & little else. Mild tannins on the finish. (3409 views) | | | Tasted by leighhunt on 12/2/2012 & rated 91 points: There needs to be an "I love it" button! Had this wine at a dinner where we tasted 6 cabs ranging from 2010 to 1998. This was the oldest, and the only one that had transitioned to what I would describe as a mature wine. Bouquet of leather and other barnyard scents. Wonderfully balanced, with a nice long finish. Great option for a reasonably priced example of a mature napa cab. (4210 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 11/30/2012 & rated 92 points: California Cabernet Tasting for Leigh's Birthday: The best in the line-up tonight! (3668 views) | | | Tasted by DarinC on 11/23/2012 & rated 87 points: Pleasant easy-drinking classically styled napa cab at current auction prices. Slight seepage halfway into cork. Red fruit profile with earth and some vegetal notes. Very few tannins on the medium finish. Held up for at least 2hrs. 3rd bottle with consistent notes. Drink soon. (3177 views) | | | Tasted by IlonaN on 6/20/2011 & rated 85 points: Even though this was a magnum bottle and should have aged a bit slower than the 750's, I think it was over the hill--showed more volatile aciidity than it should have and seemed flat on the finish. Should have consumed it earlier. (3482 views) | | | Tasted by Phredd on 6/10/2011 & rated 84 points: NC Cindy Tasting. JohnR's Wake. (WineKnurd's House): NC Cindy Tasting. "JohnR's Wake". The cork on this wine showed significant seepage, but it wasn't clear that the seepage went all the way to the top of the cork. In addition, the wine was fairly faded and thin, like a translucent cherry juice. On the nose, there was an unusual combination of dustiness and used gym sock, along with some light raspberry. The palate showed thin sour raspberry, with some sweetness. There was very little tannin, and this wine has a very fruit juicy aspect. There were almost no secondary notes at all, which is very odd for a wine of this age. I am concerned about the seepage, but the wine doesn't display oxidation or any other characteristics that could truly be described as a flaw. After looking at other tasting notes, our experience appears to be similar, so I don't think the wine itself had any problem. I'll stick with the 84 score on the assumption that this wine is just over the hill. (3405 views) | | | Tasted by WineKnurd on 6/10/2011 & rated 88 points: JohnR's "wake": Supplied the "dead" bottle evaluated by Phredd in his notes but the day after I opened my last bottle, either to find it salvageable or to clear another over the hill wine from my cellar. Pleasantly surprised it was the former, though seriously on its last legs. I stood it up for 2 hrs for the sediment to fall as I wasn't planning to decant or filter; after 13 years both the nose and palate were very light though not yet subdued, roughly a 3-4 intensity on a scale of 10 (10 being the concentration of flavors we all know from young CA Cabernet). The wine offers delicate notes of cherries, red currants, oak spice, toast, and cedar for the nose & palate. Interesting hints of bell pepper and red licorice before the finish; almost non-existent except for some faint hints of leather from the last bit of oak tannin. Decreased development, intensity and acidity are all attributed to age, as well as the light body and smoother palate feel from the reduced tannins. Remarkable that we still get a clear fruit / green / earth transition across the palate at 13 years and that the oak is still well integrated without dominating what remains of the nose or palate. Length is also good albeit if only for the front and mid-palate. Agree with oldgrowth45's note that the wine now has Burgundian-like qualities.
Style & Quality- B+. As compared with other aged Cabs both from CA and Bordeaux, this is on its last legs and can go from at worst a completely dead bottle to at best an easy drinking shadow of its former self. Looks like your mileage may vary on this wine right now and I suggest you drink through your inventory sooner than later. The aforementioned complexity and depth- fruit-to-vegetal-to-earth across the palate; and well done oak integration, keeps this wine out of the gutters but the lack of intensity keeps it out of the top tier uber-age-worthy category.
Value- B+. $35 / bottle before shipping is a good price for aged CA Cab in an "off-vintage" back before abv's went through the roof.
Overall- B+ (4016 views) | | | Tasted by oldgrowth45 on 4/17/2011: Drank over two nights. Medium dark ruby color. Initial nose is spicy/metallic, with good intensity. As it opens, there's fresh mushrooms, plums and a little slate on the nose. The initial palate is fairly clean, emphasizing plum and oak. There's nice spice on the midpalate that helps even out the fruit. The back palate gets a little thin and reedy. The finish has reasonable length and intensity, interestingly, there's some aspects here that recall a well-aged Burgundy as well. Decent, middle-of-the-road Cab Sauv. Cheers. (2804 views) | | | Tasted by wineismylife on 3/12/2011 & rated 90 points: Clos du Val Winery Tasting (Clos Du Val Tasting Room): WIML90
Tasted non blind at the winery. Served from MAGNUM.
Garnet to dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of thatch, barnyard, white pepper, plums and berries. Flavors of berries, cherries and a bit of raspberry. Medium acidity, medium tannins, medium to full bodied. Drink now. (3269 views) | | | Tasted by leighhunt on 2/19/2011 & rated 91 points: Excellent. Adding this note a few weeks after consumption so I don't have specifics other than it really delivered, drinking great now. (2946 views) | | | Tasted by skinnydave on 12/18/2009 & rated 92 points: This is my third and final bottle of this vintage. The previous two tastings were underwhelming. The first bottle, the wine tasted like it had peaked 2-3 years prior. The second tasting we had back to back with a 97' and obviously the 97 was far better. This tasting I was absolutely impressed. The wine had life, structure. Deep dark fruit, chocolate & plenty of Napa earth. Hardly any tannins, and it poured fruit from every ounce. Beautifully mature and perfect drinking. No decanting needed. Now, I wish I had more bottles :( (3382 views) | | | Tasted by rjeman2000 on 10/3/2009 & rated 89 points: Moderate expectations because of vintage and age, but was pleasantly surprised. Had with Indian dinner. Very Bordeaux like, with a soft mouthfeel and integrated tannins. The flavors were subdued dusty chocolate, earth, and herbs, but still held together. Very nice with a meal, and the table enjoyed as well. (3533 views) | | | Tasted by andtheodor on 5/4/2009 & rated 85 points: Red as a brick and very smooth. This opened with some aggressive vegetal (cedary eucalyptus) character and a distinct dusty earthiness on the nose. It mellowed over the day to reveal more cassis/berry notes. Very nice on day 2, dead by day 3. (3576 views) | | | Tasted by clava on 2/28/2009 & rated 88 points: Drank at dinner with friends. This bottle was an excellent surprise. Did not expect much from the maligned 98 vintage & expected it to be over the hill. This bottle had really pulled together, was quite seamless & an excellent addition to our beef-centric meal. Reminds me of my mature Gruaud Laroses. Has the same earth, pine/cedar, dusty dry cherry, old leather quality.... an unworthy description but an excellent glass with dinner. I believe it has peaked & should be drunk up now; there is not much tannin left nor fruit to age further. Drink it up with any meal that would suit a nice mature St. Julien. (3625 views) | | | Tasted by ericrico on 4/8/2008 & rated 90 points: This is what mature California cabernet is all about...smooth as silk, beautiful nose of cedar, earth, cassis with some red fruit in the balance. The vintage was difficult, as Parker called it..."maligned", but top producers found a way to craft wines that worked with what Mother Nature gave them. Bernard Portet is a Frenchman, and his wines are the essence of Bordeaux...but they happen to come from Napa Valley. Visiting there recently, I was astounded by the quality of their simple Napa Valley bottlings after a decade (plus) of age - the quality (and QPR) is astounding. I had the 1998 several times upon release and shortly thereafter thinking it would come around, but what it really needed was patience. Ahh...patience and virtue, the relationship is so hard to find willingly. Well, here I was tasting a wine that I felt was hard-edged and a disappointment years ago...and now I am here enjoying a beautiful mature wine.
For those of you who know Bordeaux, Clos du Val offers California cabernet that is more similar to Saint-Julien than any other...round, herbaceous, cedar (not oak) and beautiful cassis and red fruit flavor profile. If you know Gruaud-Larose, then this is its long-lost cousin who came to America years ago and made a wonderful home for itself (like the man himself, Bernard Portet).
There is a reason Clos du Val has been Wine & Spirits winery of the year numerous times and their wines compete with classified growth Bordeaux from decades ago.
Salute! (4133 views) | | | Tasted by Three-Star Dave on 6/18/2007 & rated 81 points: A bit past its prime. All smoke and wood, though smooth. Margie liked it, I could give it a pass. Went well with BBQ steak. (4296 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Clos du Val Producer website
Clos Du Val, French for "small vineyard estate of a small valley," was founded in 1972 in the now legendary Stags Leap District by Franco-American entrepreneur John Goelet. After a worldwide search to purchase vineyard properties from which to craft world-class wines, 150 acres in Stags Leap and 180 acres in Carneros were chosen, solidifying Clos Du Val's iconic stature and formidable place in Napa Valley history. Today, for Clos Du Val Winemaker Ted Henry, it is the bounty from these renowned vineyards that acts as the foundation for the distinctive, terroir-driven wines of balance and elegance for which Clos Du Val is known.Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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