10/28/2022 - Steve500 Likes this wine:

Beautiful aged Cabernet Sauvignon. Excellent balance of fruit and tannins that will age for years.

12/26/2020 - smoothjazz wrote:

Great wine, nice balance between fruit and acid, classic bordeaux blend from an iconic winemaker.

8/11/2020 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine:

Decanted over cocktails. I haven't had the single-vineyard Clos du Val before but the regular bottling ages so well. This still had quite a bit of fruit and oak on the palate -- perhaps the Oak Vineyard is aptly named. Showing well and possible upside if it progresses to velvety integration as some older vintages have. These seem to retain their fruit in aging better than some other mature Napa cabs, perhaps because of the intensity of Stag's Leap grapes. I can imagine decades ago buying a case of these every year and enjoying them slowly over my lifetime.

6/21/2020 - Steve500 wrote:

Beautiful French aged style wine. Hey

9/2/2019 - spacewrangler wrote:

Touch of brett on this bottle but otherwise delicious and plenty of life left.

7/5/2019 - bestdamncab Likes this wine:

Thank you Alex for sharing the wine. Nose of black berry, cassis, and dry earth, Bordeaux nose, same on the palate, big body, still holding well with lots of life, time to enjoy is now, almost mouth filling fruit, elegant, lovely fruit, lovely flavors, very tasty, and a long, long flavorful finish and pleasant aftertaste. Uploaded a photo.

4/28/2019 - spacewrangler wrote:

Killer bottle. Had this last a decade ago and it has a long life ahead. Stacked with fruit, herbs, tobacco - there's plenty of structure to go for another 5 plus years before peak. Delicious old school Napa cab. Not for the milkshake crowd.

12/31/2018 - Drogers08121 Likes this wine:

Great bottle of wine. Dried cork, had to filter.

2/10/2018 - kmforster Likes this wine:

Really needs to decant for an hour - resinous notes recede allowing secondary characteristics and still-vigorous fruit to come through. Enjoyed with prime rib.

4/19/2015 - EMTAME wrote:

Started out a bit funky, so I decanted for an hour. No change, so corked it for day 2. Better then, but still some mild funk and a green pepper streak that didn't do much for me, despite some otherwise nice fruit elements. Just not my style.

12/31/2013 - Putte Likes this wine:

Very nice. It has matured well. Tobacco, leather and some subdued blackcurrent fruit. Smooth tannins and a long lingering aftertaste. Yummy! Wish I had more.

11/28/2013 - vino vidi vici wrote:

Faded... past it's prime

5/20/2013 - WCH3GA Likes this wine:

Good grapes!

3/16/2013 - ACS Driffield wrote:

Excellent - drinking well but no rush.

11/22/2012 - deanclough wrote:

Tobacco, leather, amazing dimensions

4/22/2010 - Cphofmann wrote:

Deep purple color, blackberry fruit, slightly acidic. Good mid-palate flavor and finish.

4/10/2012 - bellabo wrote:

Drinking well and wish I had more.

12/31/2011 - JS199 wrote:

last bottle and it delivered. Strong and youthful cabernet that has plenty of time left.

6/1/2010 - learningandenjoying wrote:

G20; 4+8+4+8.5+8+4.5+4; nice, ready to drink; Alaska

6/1/2011 - acordell Likes this wine:

Drinks more like a Bordeaux cabernet than a California cab. Tobacco and dried fruit.

4/26/2011 - bellabo wrote:

Nothing to brag about. Taste is run of the mill like CDV has been during these years. Can get same quality with a $25-$30 bottle.

3/20/2011 - smp24 wrote:

Very good 100% cab - smooth wine with hints of cigar. JS199 brought this one - perfect addition to a dinner party!

3/22/2011 - JS199 wrote:

Dusty, super dry Cabernet. Consistent. Needed a glass of water along side.

3/21/2011 - JS199 wrote:

Similar to previous note.

2/20/2011 - zinfidel wrote:

Tasted at winery from magnum. Well-balanced with a nice full mid-palate and medium finish. Obviously a strong vintage for this producer, it is significantly better than the 01, which comes across as more austere and lacking the fruit of the 02. Dark cassis fruit with the trademark stags leap notes of pine tar and cedar. Was told that this vintage was unique in being 100% cabernet sauvignon, whereas other years have been blends. Drink over the next 5-10 years.

12/19/2010 - Fozziedoggie wrote:

Popped & poured. Lots of bright cherries and cassis. Tannins not yet resolved and clearly exhibits Stags Leap dusty characteristics. This is a juicy wine; probably needs a few more years to come together better.

11/29/2010 - JS199 wrote:

Decanted 30 minutes. First thought was why is this so much better than the '01? More fruit. Dry, dusty dirt, bordeaux style wine. Delicious.

11/28/2010 - spv wrote:

Really nice. Big fruit on nose - dry and well structured; like a bordeaux. Very good finish but short of remarkable. Glad I have a few of these left; should continue to improve for a number of years.

11/7/2010 - JS199 wrote:

Decanted 1+ hrs. Pretty much identical to previous tasting note.

10/11/2010 - graemeg wrote:

NobleRottersSydney - California (mostly) (Alio's, Surry Hills): [14.5%, cork] {Gordon} Double-decanted four hours earlier, but on this evidence, needs more treatment than that for current drinking. Intense yet tight nose of pure, unadulterated cassis. All ripe fruit, but not a bomb. The palate is rich yet compact, packed with dense, brooding cabernet fruit. Unobtrusive oak. Lots of chalky tannin. Medium-full bodied in weight, intense, with a long, even palate. Great structure and balance. Serious, full-bodied, aristocratic cabernet which needs another ten years to bloom properly. Outstanding.

10/1/2010 - Ajtrader wrote:

Didn't decant and didn't let it breathe for very long. Probably should have done both.

5/1/2010 - bellabo wrote:

Initially very bitter but after about an hour, this wine really leveled off to an enjoyable bottle.

4/16/2010 - JS199 wrote:

Opened for 1 hr. Acidic at first and then calmed down. Flavors of oak, leather, dusty, soft tannins, smooth. Good medium cab that thins out pretty fast.

9/16/2009 - ebrumby wrote:

This wine really surprised me as I had tasted it at the winery where I purchased this bottle and I didn't remember it being THIS good. A really pleasant cabernet, full of flavor and big--but very restrained on the alcohol.

9/11/2009 - HOS wrote:

I was disappointed based on the other reviews. Good wine but not better than that. Oh well.

5/10/2009 - acheng wrote:

Big Napa style. Oak, plum, pencil shaving. Juicy plum in the mouth with decent acidity.14.1 % alcohol. Firm tannin. Still somewhat primary. Will improve.

11/13/2008 - LOML2008 wrote:

excellent cabernet - dry finish, strong wine

11/13/2008 - LOML2008 wrote:

Full bodied, great balance, excellent representation of what a fine cabernet should taste like. Nice, dry finish

5/1/2008 - AllRed wrote:

From a newly opened bottle. Dark garnet color. Smoky black fruit, cassis, chocolate and herb notes. Well-balanced and full-bodied, with velvety tannins and flavors of blackberry, licorice, cassis and dusty plum. Subtle spice nuances on the finish and nice depth to the fruit. 92-93 pts.

5/1/2008 - AllRed wrote:

Subtle aromas of cherries and spice which follow through on the palate. While it was drinkable, and pleasant, it just wasn't what it should have been as compared to the good bottle.

5/3/2008 - Chadwick wrote:

This was a deep blood red Cabernet that we picked up at Clos du Val during a reserve tasting. The nose was brilliantly cassis, plum and slightly herbal with a suggestion of tobacco that might be more prominent with more time. It has a very silky mouthfeel, with nicely integrated tannins and just a slight acidity. The finish was surprisingly short, with it turning to a dark cherry flavor at the end. Overall, a delicious wine that's drinkable now and easily cellared for at least the next few years.

3/4/2008 - tahoeg wrote:

It's developing better than expected.

2/23/2008 - jjclips2 wrote:

We're on a roll with Clos du Val tonight. Whites were weak, then the PN was just ok, the Merlot and Cab were very nice, and now this. Noticed the colour was an opaque black cherry. The nose is the best part with creme de cassis, vanilla, eucalyptus, and smoked meat. Hints of raw oak and oak spice too. The alcohol is a bit rough up front, but the richness of the black fruits help cover this up. Good tannin structure, sweet oak and black fruits, menthol, and smoke. This is a big boy. Similar characteristics to the '03 Napa, just with more depth and better structure.

1/24/2008 - spacewrangler wrote:

I enjoyed this much more than their base Napa bottling, the tannins are still pretty prevalent. Worth cellaring for 3-5 years, I think there's enough fruit.

4/11/2007 - hiltondg wrote:

This was a great bottle. Not overdone at all. No formal notes, but I remember it being very BDX in style.

2/7/2007 - wabi47 wrote:

gorgeous sweet plum and currant fruit; ripe with a bit of raisin, but nice balance, great texture and dust gives wonderful mouthfeel; nice structure and good acid make gives this stuffing that can last

11/26/2005 - andrewstevenson.com wrote:

Made from grapes from post-phylloxera vines. There's a slightly higher proportion of cabernet franc in this than the straight 2001 Cab. Very elegant, restrained nose with hints of mint and blackcurrant. Good, fairly concentrated fruit. Seems simpler than the straight 2001 Cab. Very Good Indeed.