san francisco chronicle Top 100 Wines of 2007
The long-standing Silverado Trail winery continues to show its best with this estate bottling. Seven percent Cabernet Franc adds an aromatic punch, with heavy dried-branch notes on the nose, plenty of dusty nuance, bright currant and ripe, roasted black fruit. (December 2, 2007)
Wine enthusiast 90 points; Cellar Selection
Here’s one for the cellar. Still youthful, the wine brims with fresh acids and dry tannins that leave behind an astringent finish. Clos Du Val Cabernets age well over decades, and this one stays true to the winery’s Médoc-oriented vision, marching to its own beat in an age of drink-me-now wines. Stash until 2009, at least. (December 1, 2007)
san francisco chronicle 3 stars
This is Clos du Val's flagship wine, one that has plenty of grippy tannins that will age, when supported by the dusty dark raspberry and roasted plum fruit. There's also dried herb, spice and leather with a touch of gamy barnyard for complexity. Bernard Portet, Clos du Val's French winemaker, added 7 percent Cabernet Franc. (November 9, 2007)
Wine News 90 points
Deep, loamy aromas of blackberry, maple, clove and evergreen. Tart flavors of cherry, orange peel, espresso and dust are framed by tooth-clenching acidity. Minerally close. (August/September 2007)
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
Washington Examiner Recommended
The single vineyard 100 percent cabernet sauvignon displays a characteristic dusty/earthy nose that Stags Leap is known for. Additional scents of blackberry and leather join in on the bouquet. Big flavors of black plums, cherry, chocolate and mocha combine on the silky frame for a sublime experience. The whiff of black truffles on the finish makes this wine a winner with grilled steak and truffled potatoes. (April 5, 2007)
San Francisco Chronicle 3 1/2 stars
The estate-bottled Stags Leap effort remains the winery's standout. A Bordeaux homage is clear here, with graphite, cigar box, dried herbs, tart currant and brambly fruit. Silky tannin and a fine, long finish. (December 22, 2006)
A Matter of Taste (Bay Area, CA) Wine Pick of the Week
The year 2002 was a beautifully balanced follow-up to the successful 2001 vintage. The "SLD" Cabernet from Clos du Val is an intensely rich, dark, concentrated and opulent wine. The aromas of herbs, spice, and black cherries, are in perfect harmony and will seduce you to drink this beauty now. The soft tannins have enough structure to allow this wine to age well for 10-15 years with good cellaring. Well worth seeking out. (December 2006)
Sante Almost Bordeaux-like, with dusty, medium-ripe blackberry and dark cherry aromas. Medium to full-bodied with just-ripe flavors and a long finish. (December 2006)
San Francisco Chronicle Recommended for the holidays
This affordable pick, stoic with deep black fruit and a solid dose of wood, is consistently enjoyable. If you need to uncork now, opt for an '01 or older. (November 24, 2006)
Koeppel on Wine Rating: Excellent
What we expect from a flagship cabernet from Clos du Val is great weight and substance without ponderousness and intensity without undue concentration or lack of generosity, and with the Oak Vineyard 2002, that’s what we get. If dark black-purple had a smell and taste as well as color, this wine would define it. The wine is deep, earthy and minerally, and it certainly offers ripe and vibrant black currant and black cherry flavors, but this needs from 2008 or ‘09 and after to achieve the typical Clos du Val balance between power and elegance. The oak regimen is a sensible 17 months in French barrels, 50 percent new. (September 8, 2006)
L.A. Daily News Co-founder Bernard Portet, whose father was a technical director at Chateau Lafite Rothschild, has consistently produced superior cabernet sauvignons, and his 2002 Stag's Leap District ($62) is no exception. It was easily the best wine of the evening, exhibiting the classic richness, length and depth of a well-balanced, thus age-worthy, claret. (September 5, 2006)
Ventura County Star Super rich and concentrated with black fruit aromas, this is a full-bodied example of cabernet at its best. (June 21, 2006)
MSNBC.com The pricier of Clos du Val’s bottlings harnesses the supple, wind-cooled fruit and loamy soils of the Stags Leap area. A heavy oak presence, despite just 50 percent in new barrels, but there are also scents of fresh dried branches and graphite (one taster wondered if there was cabernet franc in the mix; there isn’t). A dense, complex structure overshadows any clear fruit flavors, but the style offers a big nod to left-bank Bordeaux, and shows great aging potential. (June 13, 2006)
The Wine News Rating: 88
Pungent earth and garden scents place the fruit in the background. Lean, dry flavors of blackberry, espresso and chalk. Wood emerges in the close. (June / July 2006)
California Grapevine
Highly Recommended.
Medium-dark ruby; forward, cedary, spicy, toasty, herbal, leathery, cassis and black currant aroma with notes of dill and green olive; full body; tight, rough, oaky, herbay, dark cherry fruit flavors; full tannin; drying finish; lingering aftertaste. (June / July 2006)
Wine Skinny Pricey but worth the splurge, offering an array of rich aromatics -- mint, chocolate, blackberry, even truffle. In the mouth, it's dense and rich, with layers of deep fruit, spices, herbs and a hint of espresso. Well integrated tannins offer structure and some grip on the finish. Ready to drink now and over the next eight to ten years. (June 12, 2006)
Florida Keys Keynoter I'd make sure to rescue the 2002 Clos du Val Stags Leap District Oak Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($62). It's not exactly cheap, but it is exactly luscious, and it's exactly what you need to deal with the frustration of gleaning even the slightest bit of useful information from the TV nitwits a few cities away. Think of it as a California Bordeaux, elegant and sophisticated, powerful yet with fruit and acid and tannins all in perfect balance. (June 2, 2006)
Houston Chronicle Rating: 4 1/2 stars
Yummy, with good fruit, richness and also grip; expensive, but worth the tariff. (April 5, 2006)
2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
Cheers Rating: 92; 5 stars
Aromas of red berries with a floral quality; hearty, yet elegant, with its dense red fruit and fine-grained tannins, picking up more red fruit and velocity on the considerably lengthy finish. (September 2006)
Restaurant Hospitality Magazine Rating: 91 points
Brilliant ruby red-violet hue. Black currant, cherry, vanilla and tar aromas. Medium-full with very good concentration, this is a typical graceful effort from this producer with attractive varietal fruit, polished tannins and nicely integrated oak. Approachable now, it will improve for many years in the cellar.
Wine Skinny Wine Skinny Splurge Dense and concentrated, with voluptuous aromas and flavors that include cinnamon, blackberry, blueberry and cedar - you practically want to dab it behind your ears. Finishes long and lush, picking up touches of mint and sage. Ready to drink now and over the next seven or eight years. (April/May 2006)
Wine Review Online, Elin McCoy Rating: 96, tied for Stags Leap District Best of Tasting
A classic. Full-bodied and complex, with gorgeous flavors of dark fruit, earth, spice, and minerals, and a supple silky texture. It has a freshness and balance seen in the best vintages in Bordeaux, and at 13.5 percent alcohol is about a degree lower than other bottlings. A blend of 85 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 15 percent Cabernet Franc. (April 18, 2006)
Moody's Weekly Wine Review
Clos Du Val Cabernet Sauvignon Stag’s Leap District Napa Valley 2001—By far the best wine I’ve experienced from this winery. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc. Aged for 17 months in French oak, “…concentrated and balanced with bright fleshy, silky tannins and a long finish.” Hedonistic fruit on the palate.
Bernard Portet, son of a former regisseur at Lafite, started Clos Du Val and is still involved in the production of its wines. As a ruse, I served a 2002 Lafite ($150 and one of the very best 2002 Bordeaux wines) at a party for 10 enophiles, followed by the 2001 Clos Du Val. Everyone, including myself, preferred the Clos Du Val. It is certainly more impressive and drinking better now!
I would go with rack of lamb, and with all this great fruit, a dash of mint jelly would be OK. Should age beautifully for the short to intermediate term. Probably at peak in six to eight years. In the running with the $100+ Cabs. (December 22, 2005)
Decanter Rating: 3 stars, Recommended
Blackberry and spice, but very tight and closed. Big solid wine, full bodied and strong. The alcohol and tannins are very much in the front. (January 2005)
Santé Annual Buying Guide Full bodied, elegant, mouth-filling, and austere with noticeable tannins, blackberry, black-currant, tobacco, earthy-spice, and herbal notes; long finish. Roasted game meat or game bird. (January 2005)
Wine Enthusiast Rating: 91
Clos Du Val continues to march to a different drummer. It’s always been a youthfully shy, dry wine that stresses elegance over flamboyance. This wine has great black currant and herb flavors, but stresses its structure with an acidic, tannic emphasis. It should age for many years. (October 2004)
Wine Spectator Rating: 88
This is a ripe, rich, vibrant style, with intense currant, black cherry, wild berry and spicy cedary oak nuances. Firmly tannic with lively acidity, this wine could use short-term cellaring to round out the rough edges. Best from 2005 through 2012. (August 31, 2004)
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine Rating: 88
Sporting a veneer of forest-floor spice and plenty of oak in its well-ripened nose, this solidly built bottling takes its time in focusing on clear Cabernet fruit but gets there with patience and breathing. If never especially fruity in tone, it shows a good bit of cassis and rich oak on the palate before drying out just slightly as its tannins come to the fore. Held back by its youth and seemingly made with cellaring in mind, it calls out for age, and five years in the bottle will do it no harm. (August 2004)
Colorado Wine News It opens with earth, mushroom, oregano, currant, and black raspberry on the nose. Mostly raspberry now with loads of tannin, it finishes medium-broad and somewhat short. This wine has good balance and structure but needs two to three years to develop, open, and soften the tannins. It will be worth the wait. Very good. (July - September 2004)
The Wine News Rating: 91
Ruby-black hue. Fresh scents of blueberry, plum, gravel, maple and cedar. Minerally, concentrated flavors of ripe plum, cherry, sweet oak and coffee. Crisp close shows lots of berry fruit and cedar. (June / July 2004)
California Grapevine Rating: 89; Highly Recommended
Medium-dark ruby with purplish tinges; attractive, intense, complex, herbal, cassis and sweet dark berry fruit aroma with hints of cinnamon and overtones of toasty oak; full body; big, rich, textured, cedary, black cherry and blackberry fruit flavors; full tannin; rough finish; lingering aftertaste. Shows a lot of oak and needs bottle aging. Highly recommended. (June / July 2004)
Florida Keys Keynoter A stunningly beautiful wine. Rich, complex, full-bodied, with an intoxicating nose of cassis and spices and an equally seductive flavor profile of blackberries and dried fruit, licorice and toast, it's so luscious you want to savor every sip yet would make an ideal partner to rosy-rare prime rib or wonderfully stinky French cheeses. (July 24, 2004)
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
Baltimore Magazine Of course we knew it was the 2000 Clos du Val Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District. The Stags Leap District on the eastern side of Napa Valley produces robust Cabernets that have a distinctively sleek and succulent quality, along with notes of cocoa and sage. This vintage is a marvelous example and was just released. (September 2003)
California Grapevine Rating: Recommended
Medium-dark ruby; attractive, elegant, spicy, cedary, slightly stemmy, ripe plum and black cherry fruit aroma; medium-full body; tight, herbal, cedary, black cherry fruit flavors with hints of bell pepper; medium full to full tannin; tight and somewhat austere on the finish; lingering aftertaste. Recommended. 13.5% alcohol; 2,018 cases; blended with 5% CF: to be released June 2003. (May 15, 2003)
California Wine and Food Magazine Rating: Pick of the Week
This is a wonderful wine. At $62 it should be, but there are Napa Cabs out there much more pricey that can’t match this one. Blackberry and cassis to the nose, this wine opens up to deep, rich blackberry flavors and finishes long and complex. Lush fruit in an elegant package. (May 15, 2003)
Decanter Rating: 4 Stars
95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, the wine has a complex nose of blackcurrant and blackberries with some oak characters. Firm structure with elegant ripe fruit, full bodied. Great potential. 2-10 years. (September 2003)
The Wine News Rating: 88
Black-garnet hue. Rich, aromas of stewed rhubarb, cedar, mint, tobacco and earth. Friendly tannins flatter soft flavors of blackberry, cranberry, smoke, tar and earth. Long finish highlighted by espresso notes. (June/July 2003)
Wine Enthusiast Rating: 91
Stays true to the CDV style of crafting wines that tend to be tough in their youth, but are solidly built for the long haul. Good, rich blackcurrant fruit is folded into thick tannins. Stick it in your cave and come back to it in a few years. (November 15, 2003)
