United States · California

Clos du Val

Clos du Val is a Stags Leap District pioneer, founded in 1972 by John Goelet and winemaker Bernard Portet, son of the technical director of Château Lafite Rothschild. The French connection was deliberate: Portet sought to produce structured, European-style Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa, and the 1972 Clos du Val Cabernet was entered into the famous 1976 Paris Tasting alongside Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. The estate's Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon has been the workhorse of the 315-lot auction record at $123 average, supplemented by a Reserve Cabernet averaging higher and small lots of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Zinfandel. Bernard Portet retired in 2008 and was succeeded by a series of winemakers, with the estate now managed by the Goelet family. Clos du Val Cabernets from the 1970s through the 1990s represent some of the most historically significant bottles in California wine, trading well above their modest release prices. The Stags Leap District's volcanic soils and afternoon winds from San Pablo Bay produce Cabernet of notable elegance and finesse, a terroir character the estate exploited earlier than most Napa producers recognised.