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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.7 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 87 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by capacious on 9/20/2023 & rated 90 points: Scored 90 barely, should have had last year or before. Drink up, this is why we should keep track of drink by dates recorded here, I find CT comments very valuable as regards drink by, and this disappointed. (341 views) | | | Tasted by HODL on 7/13/2023 & rated 92 points: Great wine
Still a lot of primary fruit, but just starting to fade
Great balance, and tannins still there and well integrated
This label is a real sleeper and great value fruit from the backside of Howell mtn, not at the elevation considered Howell (256 views) | | | Tasted by Schwarzer Hund on 8/17/2022: Dark red,opened 90 minutes before dinner, raspberry and cranberry nose, dense fruit on palate, perfect balance, integrated tannins, very smooth long finish. This bottle was substantially better than our previous bottle in Jan 2018. Served with porterhouse steak. No sign of being past its prime. (702 views) | | | Tasted by no leashes on 8/4/2021 & rated 90 points: This bottle much better than last, with nice plum, earth and spice flavors. Smooth texture, really drinking well right now. (1197 views) | | | Tasted by no leashes on 12/13/2019 & rated 88 points: Not one of the better years for Clark Claudon, but still enjoyable with dark fruit, some earth and herbal flavors. Lighter style. Drink now. (1533 views) | | | Tasted by Schwarzer Hund on 1/6/2018: dark ruby red color, red raspberry and cherry nose, slightly tart earthy red berry fruit, medium weight, tannins integrated fairly well, medium length smooth finish. (1923 views) | | | Tasted by Quiet Lion on 3/30/2017 & rated 89 points: Not very interesting or integrated for a 15-year-old Napa Cab. Too much oak, monolithic. (2527 views) | | | Tasted by geospangler on 3/26/2017 & rated 89 points: Holding up well. Dark ruby color. Still a bit of tannin. (2224 views) | | | Tasted by RHPrague on 2/4/2017 & rated 93 points: One of the best wines I have had the pleasure of drinking. A gift from a very good friend who recommended to drink it soon, and suggested steak as the ideal accompaniment. A good rib-eye was indeed ideal. Beautifully balanced, perfumed nose, notes of honey and forest fruits (according to the wife). I drank most of the bottle, and the last drop was as enjoyable as the first. (2164 views) | | | Tasted by DesMarteau on 11/21/2016 & rated 93 points: I'm a Nice drinking window now...lower alcohol and resulting subtle fruit. Raisins, leather, spice. Nice integration and goes well with food! (2139 views) | | | Tasted by dirk21 on 11/9/2015 & rated 89 points: Probably won't last much longer, but still a fantastic wine. Color shows beginnings of oxidation. Lush dark berries and leather on the nose. Palate of blueberry, blackberry, some dried fruit, and a hint of earth and oak. Tannins are a little grainy but pleasant. (2309 views) | | | Tasted by ipp on 12/7/2014 & rated 90 points: Not my favorite Clark Claudon vintage. It is good, but not as complex or long as other years. A bit herbaceous. (2544 views) | | | Tasted by ipp on 9/3/2014 & rated 90 points: drank very well ... loosing some fruit but had a nice nose ... drink in the next 1-2 years (2673 views) | | | Tasted by BRR on 4/28/2014 & rated 91 points: No decant. Lovely, delicate perfume melding ripe raspberry, green tobacco (just a touch), and maybe some earth. Similar flavors on the palate with a floral note coming through and slightly riper fruit flavors, including huckleberry and black raspberry. Not a large wine, but finely tuned and ageing gracefully. I don't see this improving, and will likely hold for 1-2 more years. Very nice. (3043 views) | | | Tasted by buckeye76 on 12/20/2013 & rated 91 points: BLACK CHERRIES, CHOCOLATE AND BLACKBERRIES IN THE NOSE WITH BLACKBERRIES AND BLACK CHERRIES IN THE FLAVOR. SMOOTH MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH. (812 views) | | | Tasted by Janstan on 11/27/2013: This has aged beautifully. Silky and great structure. Like a beefed up Bordeaux. Great with traditional Mexican food on 56th and 9th Ave. (3075 views) | | | Tasted by Mr T on 10/17/2013: very nice...sorry others did not enjoy so much (2703 views) | | | Tasted by mike l. on 9/5/2013 & rated 88 points: adequate but not particularly worth seeking out (2374 views) | | | Tasted by AngryPrez on 1/20/2013 flawed bottle: stewed fruit aroma and taste - decanted for four hours to see if it would dissipate but no luck - bad bottle (2656 views) | | | Tasted by Mr T on 12/17/2012: really pretty wine...mature but going nowhere with the lovely fruit of the vintage but in excellent balance...far and away the best CC cab I have had great (2368 views) | | | Tasted by BRR on 12/10/2012 & rated 92 points: Very pleasantly surprised. Again, an elegant, more restrained style of Napa Cab, and has aged very well. Cool purple and red fruit, very fine tannins, long, stately finish. Should said for another few years. (2167 views) | | | Tasted by AngryPrez on 11/25/2012 & rated 91 points: PnP - very smooth - red fruit flavor (raspberry/cherry) primary on initial pour - gained in complexity with more air - very enjoyable (2090 views) | | | Tasted by awineo on 10/31/2012 & rated 91 points: Last one.... A very refined cab. Good fruit and tannins, but softer than most CA cabs. Nice!! (2023 views) | | | Tasted by awineo on 8/22/2012 & rated 90 points: A well made estate cab. Nice fruit and balanced tannins. A little pricey... (1955 views) | | | Tasted by paulst on 7/22/2012 & rated 90 points: Plum and raiseny with good structure, balance and rich finish. (1958 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Clark-Claudon Producer Website
In 1974, shortly after their Peace Corp assignment in Colombia, Tom Clark and Laurie Claudon came to the Napa Valley, new baby boy in tow. Immediately caught up in the infectious energy, they were ready to take their place among a small group of visionary grape growers and winemakers. Together, that group of pioneers laid the foundation for the unrivaled status of today’s Napa Valley.
Over the next four years as their family grew. Tom continued to refine his grape growing expertise and Laurie learned along with him. In 1979, Tom founded Clark Vineyard Management and began developing and managing vineyards under his own company.
Then in 1989 pressed by a friend, Tom and Laurie hiked a piece of property on the north east side of Howell Mountain. Though unproven, it was the proverbial love at first sight and ideal for a Cabernet vineyard. Because of Tom’s considerable reputation, the sellers desire to support the purchase and the couple’s willingness to bet on themselves, they leased and developed the property while eventually exercising their option to buy. Working together, the family joked about calling it Sweat Equity, but the vineyard they developed would become Clark-Claudon Vineyards.
Their business was founded in the old tradition of family winemaking where the art begins in the vineyard and ends with a beautiful bottle of wine. The name Clark-Claudon and the logo's meeting of the two feathers represent a joint commitment to the pursuit of their dream and to the preservation of the environment that supports it. Since then, Clark-Claudon Vineyards has received critical acclaim for their Estate Grown Cabernet, Eternity Reserve Estate Cabernet and their Wild Iris Sauvignon Blanc.
To this day, Clark-Claudon Vineyards is a family affair.
Laurie, the soul of Clark-Claudon, manages the business, public relations and marketing while staying in close contact with the vineyard and the winemaking.
Tom directs production and manages the vineyard with son Joshua who now owns Clark Vineyard Management with his wife Heather.
Daughter, Briana, a professional photographer, is the resident photographer and design guru; www.brianamariephotography.com.
Son-in-law Brian, often Tom's assistant, plays too many roles to list!
The third generation: Brandon, Trevor, Josephine, Paxton and Finley are growing up in this very special world.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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