When John Goelet set out to start a winery in the early 1970s, he gave Bernard Portet one instruction: "We want to achieve the best wine outside of Bordeaux. Go 'round the world and find it." Portet spent two years searching four continents before a drive down the Silverado Trail brought him to the ground that became Hirondelle Vineyard. The wine he set out to make here is defined both by composition and its characteristics: Bordeaux-style.
What "Bordeaux-Style" Means
Bordeaux itself does not define the term, because nobody legally owns it. A red wine described as Bordeaux-style is made from some combination of the grapes traditionally grown and blended in that illustrious region of France: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot often do most of the heavy lifting, while the remaining three grapes add depth, color, body, and complexity to the blend. Unlike Meritage or AOC designations, the claim “Bordeaux-style” is not regulated by a governing board. A winery in Napa, Washington State, Australia, or Chile can call a wine Bordeaux-style as long as it's built from that same family of grapes. And like anything that’s adopted by other cultures, producers interpret the designation in their own ways. Composition is only half of it, though. A Bordeaux-style wine is also defined by its character: restrained and balanced rather than big and fruit-forward. For whites, the same thinking applies to Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, the two grapes behind the dry whites of Bordeaux.
Why an Estate on the Silverado Trail Uses a French Term
Napa doesn't have a rule requiring anyone to plant these particular grapes, and plenty of Napa wineries don't. Clos du Val does because Goelet's directive to Portet was specific from day one: not to imitate Bordeaux, but to make a wine as good as (if not better) than Bordeaux's, somewhere else in the world. A native of Bordeaux, Portet believed that Bordeaux-style was the best that there was, and he’d strive to use his foundation of knowledge and expand from it. He discovered the right conditions in what became the Stags Leap District, where cool nights off the San Pablo Bay allow grapes to hold onto the acid that a Bordeaux-style blend depends on. Our estate has farmed toward that same instinct since 1972.
Napa Cab vs. Bordeaux-Style: Two Names, Two Styles
The two terms often get used as if they mean the same thing, but they describe different wines. "Napa Cab" has come to mean a particular style: bold, fruit-forward, and usually built mostly around Cabernet Sauvignon. A Bordeaux-style wine aims for restraint and balance, with each grape in the blend doing a specific job. A Napa Cabernet can include a little Merlot or Cabernet Franc and still be a Napa Cab in every way that counts in the glass. The grapes are only part of what makes a wine Bordeaux-style. The rest is how it tastes, and that balance is what Portet came to the Stags Leap District to make.
What We Bottle in This Style
Yettalil is the clearest example, and the wine that most fully expresses our estate. The 2022 vintage is 70 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 8 percent Cabernet Franc, 8 percent Petit Verdot, 6 percent Malbec, 5 percent Carménère, and 3 percent Merlot, drawing on all six of Bordeaux's traditional red grapes, though the exact mix shifts from year to year depending on what each block gives us. The 2023 vintage earned 97 points and Best in Show at the Decanter World Wine Awards, where the judges called it "long, poised and eloquent," which is about as good a description of the style as any. Our Estate Cabernet Franc rounds out a dominant varietal with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and the 2023 vintage adds a touch of Carménère, itself a grape that was once part of Bordeaux's own traditional mix before phylloxera pushed it out of France entirely.
The style carries into our whites and rosé as well. Our Sauvignon Blanc follows the white Bordeaux model: mostly Sauvignon Blanc, with roughly 12 to 15 percent Sémillon blended in, the same pairing behind the dry whites of Bordeaux. Our Rosé of Cabernet Franc draws on Bordeaux's rosé tradition, where Cabernet Franc is one of the region's classic grapes for pink wine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "Bordeaux-style" mean for a wine? It describes a wine built from the grapes traditionally blended in Bordeaux: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot for reds, and Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon for whites. The term isn't regulated, so producers anywhere in the world can use it as long as the blend draws from that same family of grapes. It also describes a style: restrained and balanced, with the acidity and structure to age.
Is "Bordeaux-style" the same as Meritage? No. Meritage is a trademarked American term with a specific, defined set of rules. "Bordeaux-style" is a broader description that different producers apply somewhat differently.
Which Clos du Val wines are Bordeaux-style blends? Many of them. To name a few: Yettalil, our Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, our Estate Cabernet Franc, the Sauvignon Blanc, and our Rosé of Cabernet Franc.
Why does a Napa winery use a French term at all? Because Clos du Val was founded to do exactly that. Our founder John Goelet sent winemaker Bernard Portet around the world with instructions to find a place to make Bordeaux-quality wine outside of Bordeaux itself, and Portet chose Napa's Stags Leap District for it in 1972.
Is a Napa Cabernet the same thing as a Bordeaux-style wine? Not usually. "Napa Cab" has come to describe a bold, fruit-forward style, often built almost entirely around Cabernet Sauvignon. A Bordeaux-style wine is more restrained and balanced. A Napa Cabernet can include a little Merlot or Cabernet Franc and still read as a Napa Cab in the glass, because the style comes from how the wine is grown and made as much as from the grapes in the blend.