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Country: | United States |
Regions: | California California (Napa) |
Winery: | Clos du Val |
Grape Type: | Cabernet Sauvignon |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Clos Du Val Yettalil is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec
The 2019 Yettalil opens with aromas of fresh blackberry, ripe plum, and racy cassis layered with hints of violet, bay leaf, and thyme. Beautifully balanced and elegant on the palate, vibrant acidity and polished tannins give way to a concentrated core of black cherry, vanilla, and cedar. The texture is velvety and plush with a backbone of graphite and dark chocolate that lingers through a long finish.
Review:
A Bordeaux-inspired blend, the 2019 Yettalil Red Wine is considerably darker, deeper and richer than the Napa Valley Cabernet. Scents of cassis, pencil shavings, loam and mocha all appear on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is expansive and velvety without getting jammy or overly broad. Perhaps most important, for a wine that will presumably be consumed along savory dishes, it's nicely savory itself, with earthy notes and gentle tannins punctuating the long finish.
-Wine Advocate 94 Points
At the heart of Clos du Val is an epic love story. Wine, after all, is a product of passion, and ours is the passion project of John and Henrietta Goelet, together with winemaker Bernard Portet.
It was the early 1970s in France. The young couple were world travelers, patrons of the arts, and entrepreneurs who brought a visionary spirit to their every endeavor. They adored the wine culture of France, where they lived for many years, and shared family ties to some of Bordeaux’s most storied wine merchants, Barton & Guestier. They dreamt of founding a winery outside the insular world of the French wine industry, and sharing their love for French-style wines with the world. At the time, it was a daring idea–fine wine was still synonymous with France, and it was widely believed that nowhere else on earth could rival such terroir, tradition, and winemaking excellence.
The two took a chance, and challenged a young Bernard Portet–fresh out of winemaking school and steeped in the Bordeaux tradition–to travel the world and find a place where they could grow Cabernet Sauvignon that would rival the world’s best. A two-year global search ensued, ultimately leading Portet to the Napa Valley before it was recognized as a world-class wine region. Together with Bernard, the couple planted their first vineyard and began production of their beloved Bordeaux-style wines. Soon, early vintages of Clos du Val were turning heads at top competitions in France and the U.S., kickstarting what would become one of the couple’s biggest adventures yet.
Over the last half of a century, Clos du Val has seen three generations of Goelet family ownership. The winery is now held by John and Henrietta’s six grandchildren, including our Head of Winegrowing and Chairman, Olav Goelet.
Opening with fresh aromas of blueberry and black cherry, this classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon showcases plush tannins and a rich, velvety mouthfeel. Vibrant flavors of blackberry, plum, and toasty oak are followed by a long, smooth finish.
Review:
This shows lots of ripe dark and blue fruit on the nose, together with some leafy character. Notes of spices, cedar wood and walnuts, too. Medium-to full-bodied with firm tannins and a fresh, juicy-fruit profile. Polished and smooth with an array of succulent berries and blue flowers in the aftertaste. Drinkable now, but better in two or three years. Try after 2024.
-James Suckling 93 Points
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 2 % Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.
Alain Jaume Domaine du Clos de Sixte Lirac is made from 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre
An intense red garnet color. On the nose, aromas of red and black ripe fruit (kirsch and wild blackberry). The mouth is full, with aromas of blackcurrant liqueur and spice. Tannins are both harmonious and elegant thanks to the fleshiness of the wine. Hints of licorice and vanilla on the finish, which gives the wine length and complexity.
Soil type LIRAC vineyard is facing Chateauneuf du Pape, opposite side of the Rhône river. As showed by the picture and following geologist George Truc, soils are almost similar in both side. They are marked by the violence wrought by the Rhone river. It consists of a layer of marine molasses of the Miocene period covered by alpine alluvium. The presence of a great number of rounded stones known as "galets" in the earth is evidence of the time when the Rhone, then a torrent, tore fragments of rock from the Alps and deposited them on the plain. LIRAC is one of the up-coming best area from the southern Rhône valley, as it delivers outstanding wines. Winemaking & ageing Traditional wine-making in stainless still vats. Hand sorted bunches, crushed and destemmed grapes. Fermentation temperature : 30°C. 18 days of vatting with pigeages.
Review:
"There’s no missing the huge black-fruit character of this full-bodied but well-balanced Lirac. Excellent integration of tannins, fruit and alcohol, Touches of tar, licorice and Mediterranean herbs add interest, particularly at the supple finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold."
- - James Suckling (February 2022), 92 pts
Ogier Clos de l'Oratoire des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Choregies is made from 90% Grenache, 7% Syrah, 3% Mourvèdre.
Located in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region in the Rhône Valley, Clos de l’Oratoire des Papes is named in honor of the small 18th century oratory (oratoire in French) that overlooks its original 49.5-acre vineyard plot. In 1880, Edouard Amouroux became the owner of this parcel, which was planted to Syrah, and contained the small oratory that had been dedicated to St. Mark. By the 1920’s the Amouroux family was already bottling their own Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine from this vineyard parcel naming their vineyard Clos de l'Oratoire des Papes. As a tribute to its rich history, the wine’s distinctive label design has remained unchanged since its original design in 1926.
The Estate has prided itself on respecting time-honored wine making traditions while at the same time, incorporating modern techniques to ensure the highest quality wine possible are made each year. In 2006, Clos de l’Oratoire des Papes converted to organic farming and uses a horse-drawn plow to till the vineyard’s soils. After the grapes are hand-harvested, they are transported to winery in small baskets only to undergo vigorous selection process with a double sorting table. Depending on the vintage, the grapes are then partially (or wholly) destemmed and can be co-fermented with different varieties in order to produce a complex and pedigreed wine.Today, the estate comprises a total of 100-acres showcasing the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region’s four great soil types: galets roulés (rounded stones over sandy clay), safres (sandy soils), éclats calcaires (limestone-based clays) and red-sandstone.
The iconic estate produces three distinctive wines – a red and white Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a limited release cuvée, “Les Choregies du Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes”, produced only in exceptional years.
The color is an intense dark cherry with delicate ruby flashes. The nose offers a selection of subtle notes (ripe red and vanilla fruit, followed by black pepper and fresh rosewood). The attack is full of fruit and spicy complexity bringing out the tannins and freshness. Fruit aromas complete the long finish.
Enjoy with caramelized spicy rabbit, duck, roasts or an autumn dish with mushrooms or truffles and game.
Review:
Rich but restrained aromas of blueberry and blackberry become riper and more preserved on the palate of this open-knit, rounded wine. Made from 80% Grenache augmented by Mourvèdre and Syrah, it offers glossy black fruit freshened by hits of crushed granite and violet. Tannins are ripe but penetrating. It should improve well through 2030. Anna Lee C. Iijima
-Wine Enthusiast 96 Points
Alain Jaume Domaine du Clos de Sixte Lirac is made from 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre
An intense red garnet color. On the nose, aromas of red and black ripe fruit (kirsch and wild blackberry). The mouth is full, with aromas of blackcurrant liqueur and spice. Tannins are both harmonious and elegant thanks to the fleshiness of the wine. Hints of licorice and vanilla on the finish, which gives the wine length and complexity.
Soil type LIRAC vineyard is facing Chateauneuf du Pape, opposite side of the Rhône river. As showed by the picture and following geologist George Truc, soils are almost similar in both side. They are marked by the violence wrought by the Rhone river. It consists of a layer of marine molasses of the Miocene period covered by alpine alluvium. The presence of a great number of rounded stones known as "galets" in the earth is evidence of the time when the Rhone, then a torrent, tore fragments of rock from the Alps and deposited them on the plain. LIRAC is one of the up-coming best area from the southern Rhône valley, as it delivers outstanding wines. Winemaking & ageing Traditional wine-making in stainless still vats. Hand sorted bunches, crushed and destemmed grapes. Fermentation temperature : 30°C. 18 days of vatting with pigeages.
Review:
"Another top-notch vintage for this property, the 2018 Lirac Domaine du Clos de Sixte looks as if it may rival the 2016. It's 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah and 15% Mourvèdre, aging in concrete (70%) and barrels (30%). Floral notions mark the nose, while flavors of raspberries and apricots appear on the full-bodied palate. This seems creamy-supple at first, with steadily building tannins on the lengthy finish. - Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #245, October 2019), 91-93 pts
Clos Saint-Jean is a 41-hectare estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape run by brothers Vincent and Pascal Maurel. Considered by many critics and wine-writers as the preeminent estate espousing the modern style of winemaking in Châteauneuf, this cellar is one of the oldest in the region, having been founded in 1900 by the greatgreat-grandfather of Vincent and Pascal, Edmund Tacussel. A short time after its founding and well before the AOP of Chateauneuf-du-Pape was created in 1923, Edmund began bottling estate wines in 1910.
The farming at Clos Saint-Jean is fully sustainable due to the warm and dry climate, which prevents the need for chemical inputs. Instead, Vincent and Pascal employ organic methods for pest control, mainly pheromones, to prevent pests from taking up residence in their vines, a process called amusingly enough in French, confusion sexuelle. The vines tended manually, and harvest is conducted in several passes entirely by hand.
Combe des Fous literally means, the hill of the fool. The hill, in this case, is located in the far southern reach of Le Crau which was left barren for many centuries because the layer of galets was so exceedingly deep that everyone assumed vines could never survive there. The fool in this situation is Edmund Tacussel, the great-great-grandfather of Vincent and Pascal Maruel who planted a Grenache vineyard on this site in 1905. That old-vine Grenache form the heart of this cuvée with a small amount of Syrah, Cinsault and Vaccarèse. La Combe des Fous is only made in the best vintages.
Review:
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Combe Des Fous is a normal blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Vaccarèse and Cinsault. Beautiful, full-bodied aromas and flavors of ripe black raspberries, violets, ground pepper, lavender, and herbes de Provence all emerge from this gorgeous barrel sample, and it shows the pure, fresh, yet still concentrated style of the vintage brilliantly.
-Jeb Dunnuck 94-97 Points
Gagliasso Barolo Riserva Oak Box is made from 100% Nebbiolo
Complex and intense aromas of red fruits intermixed with licorice, prune, leather, smoke and notes of toasty oak and vanilla. Full-bodied on the palate with loads of ripe dried and candied fruits, pepper and mocha.
The wine comes in a 6 bottle wooden box.
After malolattic fermentation the wine stays for 10 months in French barrels, 10% new oak and 90% different years; after this period all barrels are blended ( 50% Torriglione and 50% Rocche dell’Annunziata) in old barrels for 48 months again. The wine is bottled and refined for 24 months.
There's a gritty, sandy quality to the tannins that would cut through roast pork stuffed with prunes.
Review:
Exciting the blend of Rocche and Torriglione which expresses so much power in this extraordinary vintage. Part in slight reduction and slowly reveals hints of black plums, tobacco leaf, tomato leaf, black tea leaves, melted caramel licorice, incense and lots of bergamot. Solid and powerful on the palate with perfectly ripe tannins. Magic in the glass in Barolo.
-WinesCritic.com 96 Points
Dark, radiant ruby red. On the nose, nuances of black tea, dried blood oranges, rich cherries, a bit of wild berries, light quinine, with an aftertaste of cedarwood and mint. On the palate with elegant, close-meshed tannin, rich dark fruit and harmonious course, spans a beautiful fan to the long finish.
-Falstaff 94 Points
Castelmaure Grande Cuvee Corbieres Rouge is made from 50% Grenache (30 year old) and 50% Syrah (30 year old)..
In the early 1990’s, Castelmaure began experimenting with a Prestige Cuvée of Corbières. This wine has become known as “Grande Cuvée” and is made with the help of the winemaking team of Tardieu-Laurent.
Vinification: destemming, pneumatic press, end of fermentation at 25 degrees C; two racking; aging in tank then in 220 Liter Bordeaux barrels for 10-12 months. Egg fining, slight filtration..
Deep and intense color, powerful aromas of dark berry fruit, prune and coffee nuances, and a persistent finish.
Vineyards: planted on 50% Schist and 50% limestone soils.