Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 Red Wine

Production

Carmel, Olaf and the winemaking team regard and use Château Pontet-Canet and Château Lynch-Bages as benchmarks for blending. The 2021 growing season began with below-average rainfall and mild summer temperatures. A significant heatwave hit Napa Valley in late August, speeding up the ripening process and causing harvest to start a few weeks early. The resulting low fruit yields contributed to concentrated flavors in each cluster of grapes This wine is made from a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 7 % Malbec. The vines for this predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon blend are up to 29 years old and grow in gravelly clay loam. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with 2 pump overs daily. The wine is aged in French and Hungarian oak barrels for 20 months, 65% of which is new oak.

Tasting notes

The 2021 show a return to the more elegant styles of the past from Clos du Val, it is clearly Californian with a core of bright fruit but has a satisfying restrained contrast that shows the estates homage to Bordeaux. The colour is a deep garnet and the wine has aromas of black fruits, cedar wood, dark chocolate and leather. The palate is rich and complex with supple blackcurrant fruits and more complex characters of wood spice and graphite pencil. The texture is focused with well structured tannins and great acidity. A wine that drinks brilliantly now and will age well for the next decade.

Food match

Slam in the lamb! Alternatively stick with quality British beef or a host of other succulent meat roasts. Or approximately 2kg of cheese.