TN: 1992 Clos du Val Merlot Stag's Leap District

[DavidSawyer]

Bought this on Wine Commune for $7(!). I didn’t expect much but it showed very well. Really nice stewed red fruits on the nose with a lot of tobacco and earth. On the palate it is surprisingly tannic but still has great structure. I wouldn’t wait too much longer to drink this if you want good fruit. It has nice earthiness though and the tannins and acid are still balanced. It has another year or two of nice drinking if stored properly and maybe more if you aren’t depending on a fruit-driven Cali wine. Impressive and interesting. /**

[ToddFrench]

@DavidSawyer

Bought this on Wine Commune for $7(!). I didn’t expect much but it showed very well. Really nice stewed red fruits on the nose with a lot of tobacco and earth. On the palate it is surprisingly tannic but still has great structure. I wouldn’t wait too much longer to drink this if you want good fruit. It has nice earthiness though and the tannins and acid are still balanced. It has another year or two of nice drinking if stored properly and maybe more if you aren’t depending on a fruit-driven Cali wine. Impressive and interesting. /**

Wow, David, thanks for the note! I would NEVER have expected anything other than sherry and brown sugar on a '92 Merlot from Clos Du Val…impressive.

I was a fan of their Carneros Pinot Noir some years back, but haven’t had it in a while.

[Daniel_Posner]

@Todd F r e n c h

I would NEVER have expected anything other than sherry and brown sugar on a '92 Merlot from Clos Du Val…impressive.

So you thought it would turn into 1971 Barolo?

[Rick_Smith]

@Daniel Posner

@Todd F r e n c h

I would NEVER have expected anything other than sherry and brown sugar on a '92 Merlot from Clos Du Val…impressive.

So you thought it would turn into 1971 Barolo?

[ToddFrench]

@Daniel Posner

@Todd F r e n c h

I would NEVER have expected anything other than sherry and brown sugar on a '92 Merlot from Clos Du Val…impressive.

So you thought it would turn into 1971 Barolo?

If it did, it would be WOTN, and I’d scramble to procure more of it!

[DavidSawyer]

Todd-
Yeah I thought it was cool that it still showed good fruit. My rationale was that it was a) from a good year b) it had a great fill level c) I like Stag’s Leap District. Worth the $7 for sure. After looking more into it, I think Clos du Val used to do this SLD specific Merlot but stopped bottling it as a SLD in the mid nineties. There were a few other Cellartracker TNs for these but not from this specific vintage. All were 90ish points. I probably wouldn’t have bought it if it were simply a Napa Merlot. If anything, this makes me take a little more interest in a lot of those bottles on WineBid and WineCommune that are assumed to be shot.

[ToddFrench]

@DavidSawyer

Todd-
Yeah I thought it was cool that it still showed good fruit. My rationale was that it was a) from a good year b) it had a great fill level c) I like Stag’s Leap District. Worth the $7 for sure. After looking more into it, I think Clos du Val used to do this SLD specific Merlot but stopped bottling it as a SLD in the mid nineties. There were a few other Cellartracker TNs for these but not from this specific vintage. All were 90ish points. I probably wouldn’t have bought it if it were simply a Napa Merlot. If anything, this makes me take a little more interest in a lot of those bottles on WineBid and WineCommune that are assumed to be shot.

There have been a huge number of great off-the-wall old bottles on WineBid - I need to re-examine it from time to time again. A little research often nets a great inexpensive treat.