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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.5 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 11 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by VinoVoyeur on 4/9/2020 & rated 88 points: Trying a side by side 1985 and 1986 bottles that have been well preserved. If I did not have the 1985 by the side I would say that 1986 is quite good at this late age. Quite mature and green pepper nose which suggests at least a modest amount of cab franc in the blend? Nice to drink but nothing wildly special though a deep inhale in the glass has some resin the back note that promises something exciting. Definitely a decent amount of sediments (even via coravin). The 1985 in contrast isn quite clean and better than the 1986. I think both are PnP situations and would fade if let in the glass for too long or perhaps only have very weak tertiaries that I won’t be able to pick. (1196 views) | | | Tasted by Alex G. on 10/11/2019: Awful. Smelled of dirty diaper and tasted like metallic acid. Cork was in decent shape but wow was this horrendous.
I have had even older Clos du Val that I have enjoyed, this was a surprise and disappointment. (1395 views) | | | Tasted by McMalbec on 2/25/2018 & rated 89 points: I was at a Sunday night pot luck buffet supper to raise funds for an exchange student from Italy. The crowd was surprisingly young and most contributed a bottle of wine or a growler of beer to go with the pastas.
After the Italian varietals were consumed, I glazed at the remaining bottles and did a double take when I saw this one. I asked the host who brought it and the donor how he had acquired it. It was gift from the owner of wine shop. Unfortunately, it had been cellared and the cork crumbled. I assisted him get as much of it out of the wine as we could by straining it with a spaghetti strainer into a Kool Aid pitcher. I wasn't sure what we had but was pleasantly surprised with it. If you have some left, enjoy. (1705 views) | | | Tasted by WfromL on 9/30/2013 & rated 96 points: Unbelievable wine!
I bought a case on release without tasting, just because Clos du Val CS took first place in the 1986 rematch of the famous 1976 Paris tasting (anybody around who still remembers that event?). Boy, did I regret it. The wine was almost undrinkable for the first 10 years: acidic, coarse, no more aromas than still water and unrecognizable as CS. I was convinced that wine had no future and I never bought Clos du Val again. For the next ten years it very slowly, almost imperceptibly improved. Still, when I finished the penultimate bottle in 2005 it remained a disappointment. Now, my last bottle, 27 years old: a huge wine, still vibrant dark red color with only a hint of orange at the rim. Earthy mushroom aromas, but in the nicest possible way. Leather and tobacco dominant on nose and in taste but completely in balance. Marvelously soft tannins, will clearly last many more years. Long finish: at least 20 seconds. I can only compare it with a great Pauillac, perhaps even Latour. I deliberately (but reluctantly) left two glasses in the bottle for tasting the next day, and 24 hours later that wine had actually improved. What a pity I drunk 11 bottles far too soon. (4344 views) | | | Tasted by Wineonthevine on 12/27/2012 & rated 89 points: Popped and poured at my WLIT party. Great deep red color. Did not have time to check the nose. May have benefited from decanting since it had considerable sediment. Very mature fruit. Fully integrated; with no tannins or sharpness. For a 26 year old Napa Valley Cab, it was very good. It was not tired or sour. Long finish. If you have it, open, decant, and enjoy now. (3887 views) | | | Tasted by Tom Warden on 6/5/2011 flawed bottle: Wine had oxidized...received it as a gift last Christmas so I don't know its history. (3652 views) | | | Tasted by oldgrowth45 on 3/9/2011: Picked this bottle up from an on-line auction fairly cheap, so I wasn't too worried if it was a crapshoot bottle. Pop & pour. Very deep, dark purple color (no light gettin' through this stuff). Wow, nose is very much alive. Strong graphite along with sweet, verdant, wet/fecund, tannic, sharp earth. The initial palate hints at a lot of potential tannic strength. However, the mid-palate quickly mellows (the tannins are a no show), into broad, medium-bodied, palate-coating fruit with a smokey background. Back palate drops off a little too quick relative to the concentration upfront and in the middle. The finish is clipped. All the action is up front. Minor quibbles for 25 y.o. Napa Cab. Nice stuff, and a fun find. (3325 views) | | | Tasted by fatboi on 2/15/2010 & rated 89 points: Drank this a week after the 1990 Conn and though this actually drank better. had a nice nose with dark berries and tobacco. structure still intact on this bottle. (3383 views) | | | Tasted by GA on 11/11/2007 & rated 80 points: 11/07 Past its prime. 80 pts. (1687 views) | | | Tasted by mrabinowitz on 3/11/2006: Pretty nice (2305 views) | | | Tasted by twoamps on 1/1/1999 flawed bottle: oxidized (519 views) |
| 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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