CLOS DU VAL
When I was visiting with Roy Piper, we were talking about the up wineries in Napa and he said something like “you know who’s come back in a big way? Clos du Val”. I took him at his word and popped in for a visit before heading down to L.A.
2017 Clos Du Val Napa SB
Yountville vineyard, 15 year vines, done in Stainless. Lemon and melon in equal measure waft up the glass. Sweet, but not too sweet—there’s drive and freshness as well. More than OK
2015 Clos du Val Hirondelle Merlot
14.1%, this is estate fruit. About 18 months in oak. Delectable plum and rhubarb pie. The dill oak is here to taste and so is a cumin-tinged plum. OK
2015 Clos du Val Petit Verdot
390 cases of this, a mix of estate and purchased fruit, close to 2 years in oak. Dark, dark fruit flows up. That’s quite nice—meat and grip and coffee grounds and small berry and currant that make up PV. Quite delicious and drinking well enough now.
2014 Clos du Val Hirondelle Cab Sauv
Gravelly soil in their vineyard. Mineral and earth combine with redcurrant and berry aromatics. Palate is cool and juicy fruit at the same time, plum and black cherry. Not a difficult wine to like
2013 Clos du Val Estate SVS Cab Sauv
Special vineyard select, there’s about 7% merlot in this. A favourite-block selection. Some underbrush scents, definitely currant, some loam. On the tongue, it’s active, much more tannic and grippy than the 14, pure currant and black raspberry, a real vin de garde.
2014 Clos du Val Estate Three Graces
14.5%, there is 1% of CF in here. 26 months in 60% new French oak, Saury, Seguin-Moreau and Vicard for the barrels. Bitter cocoa some meats and black cherry make up the nose here, very defined scents. To taste, it’s a mix of the previous two, with the structure of the SVS but a tad more red fruit and there is a dust/earth component. A complete wine, it needs time, but 90 points isn’t out of line. I was really quite pleased with what I tasted here, a backing off of the big, modern style.
JUDGMENT OF ALTADENA
The final stop on the tour was the brainchild of Paul Hiyake and mine. I was so glad to finish here and see Paul and Scott Watkins again on this trip, as well as Paul’s wife Sandy and his kids. Scott’s wife Andrea joined us for the evening and Robert Berry and his wife Fely and David Thompson and his wife Marjorie made for a very convivial table to finish my trip. We decided to have fun doing older Cali vs. older French blind. One chard flight, one pinot flight and two Cab/Meritage flights. We were fortunate to have no stinkers here. It was a huge amount of fun. With one exception, French won out for me on this night, but the Californian wines showed very well indeed.
White blind #1: Tropical notes on the nuzzie, popcorn, pineapple and plantain. Has structure and plenty of life still. My guess is a 2007 Californian. This is revealed at the end of the flight as a 2008 Ceritas Porter-Bass Chard
White blind #2: Some peach here, I get some flint and minerality. Light on its feet, this has replays with a little baked apple. My guess will be Burgundy, maybe a 2010 St. Aubin. I did like this best of the 3, and even up to #3 on the night. Reveal shows this to be 2008 Louis Carillon Puligny Montrachet Les Perrieres . I was surprised at how light this was.
White blind #3 was a wildcard, which already raises suspicion. Aromatics show a touch of sulphur and lots of gunflint around grapefruit and lemon. Tangy lime and lemon finish, there’s a spark of unripe pear and dollops of acidity still. Once we were informed that a Rhys Alpine was in the mix, this had to be that. Guessed a 2010, this is 2008 Rhys Alpine Chard . Lots of fun here as Scott, who’s had some less-than-stellar Rhys Chard bottles and had sworn off them is now a devotee once again!
Pinot blind #1: Good dark colour. Not much here, light plum and ripe raspberry maybe. Chewy with some stems and some funk. Certainly has interest and narrowly my preference. Guessed 2012 Volnay (thought Paul had inserted a throw-off quasi-ringer on age). Nope, 2000 Arcadian Francesca’s PN . This was my preferred wine in this flight.
Pinot blind #2: Quite light colour, light touch of soy, ripe red fruit. Tangy—sharp but with long lines, raspberry. Still, not authoritative or deep at all. With time, some purer cherry gets into the mix. My guess was a 1997 Californian. Nope. 2000 Jean Grivot Echezeaux This is certainly the most unprepossessing Ech I think I’ve ever had. A basic quality level is there, but…
More, this was super-fun since Paul’s daughter Kristin had, purposely or not, switched the labels on the reveal, so those of us who thought we’d nailed it were exuberant, until the “real reveal” was confirmed. We had a good laugh!
We had an intermezzo refresher of 1997 Louis Latour Chassagne Montrachet Chenevottes . Fairly ripe apple and pear aromatics. Expressive yellow fruit and honeysuckle, still fine to drink but glad this got opened this year. I wouldn’t put any money on it lasting past 2019.
Blind red #1: Fun combo of light mint, cocoa and cinnamon over red-black fruit wafts up the glass. In the mouth, still-bright fruit, stable and has a bit of forest and a tiny swatch of creosote at the end. Not much doubt this is Cali, guess is a 99. The reveal is a 1996 Dominus Cab Very solid wine here.
Blind red #2: Band-aid is picked up by all, almost even ammonia, but it blows off and some latent tea notes come out. This is very equable dans la bouche. Red fruit as a base with good carry, not too much acid. Wasn’t sure about this one—96 Bordeaux? St. Emilion if so. Nuh-uh. 1994 Opus One (thanks for correcting the year, Paul) Surprising that this didn’t show as a stronger wine. I think most of us had this as 5th or 6th on the night in this flight.
Blind red #3: Very nice berry and chestnut sniffs here. Some funk ere, a touch of pencil shavings but also relatively ripe fruit and very complete today, gives it away as a Cali. 1991? 1994 Joseph Phelps Insignia My #3 of the flight and probably #4 on the night.
Blind red #4: A nose and palate that is lush yet light, same with the palate. Just all sorts of perfume and berry fruit interacting ethereally. Super-pretty—a 90s Margaux appellation? No indeed—this was my contribution, 1998 Chateau Leoville-Barton . The 4-hour decant I ordered Paul to give this wine seems to have been all to the good. Really splendid and my #2, flight and evening. I think this got majority WOTN.
Blind red #5: Kinda closed nose, need to do a lot of swirling to get some herbs. On the tongue, still absolutely youthful, a little pucker, but also sweet fruit and herbs, and the more it opens up, the more classic and classy it gets. This ultimately gets my WOTN. I thought it was my 98 Leoville, but this is a 1995 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou 3 days later, a defined cigarette/menthol had taken over the nose but the palate remained beautiful and elegant.
Blind red #6: A bit of tar here. In the mouth, a synchronized, slightly ripe elegance. Grudgingly went with Cali, but could go either way here. And indeed, we are on the other side of the ocean, with 1999 Chateau Palmer My #4 of this flight.
We finished the evening with the AV dessert wines I’d brought, the Navarro Cluster Select Late Harvest Muscat and the Witching Stick Dessert Zin which everyone did love! And…one more thing…
1964 Dellavalle Spanna
An Italian Paul birth-year wine, I think. Who knew what we’d get? Well….W-O-W. Incredible youth in nose and mouth with bright red berry, this is super-lively and there’s no way this can ever be guessed at 54 years. Begs for spaghetti Bolognese. I ordered Paul to bring another one of these to the Friday dinner next year at FallTacular. More people have to experience this miracle.
What a great, great way to end such a marvelous trip.
