Clos Du Val
2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
California: Napa Valley
Mission Briefing
Clos Call
Today’s Clos Du Val 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is offered to you with our boldest recommendation!
An absolutely delicious wine, packed with concentrated dark fruit, mushroomy earth, and subtle hints of lavender, our tasting panel flipped for this Cab.
Coming from a 99 Point vintage, at over 30% off, with a very limited availability, this gem WILL_ sell out - so please don’t wait to get yours!
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Nearly opaque crimson in the center of the glass, with only a hint of a lighter ruby ring around the edge. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Deep aromas of black fruit, highlighted by blackberry and sweet plum, layered overtop hints of mushroomy earth, sandalwood, violet, and black peppercorn. |
| Taste: | Lush and robust on the palate, with concentrated stewed dark fruit flavors of black cherry, boysenberry, and black currant mingling with sweet tobacco leaf, espresso bean, dark chocolate, sage, and pomegranate black tea. |
| Finish: | Smooth and supple on the finish, with very well integrated, velvety tannins and lingering flavors of dark fruit. |
| Pairing: | A perfectly grilled New York Strip, served with a sage and balsamic reduction drizzled overtop. |
What the Winery Says
A fresh take on Clos Du Val’s world-class style, the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon continues the winery’s tradition of producing truly distinctive wines of balance and elegance while adding a hint of modernity. Its opulent, brooding purple hue is accentuated with aromas of ripe black and red fruit, black pepper and subtle hints of toast. The palate displays a seamless integration of rich flavors which include chocolate, toffee and ripe blackberry. The wine has a rich, full mouthfeel marked by focused, silky tannins and a long, lingering finish. Expect this Cabernet Sauvignon to age gracefully for an additional 5-10 years.
- Winemaker
- Kristy Melton
- Appellation
- Napa Valley, California
- Fruit Variety
- 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
- Cooperage
- 18 months in French oak, 25% new
- ABV
- 13.5%
About the Winery
Clos Du Val Winery was founded on the honored principles of individuality and independence which guide us to this day. Being Vindependent means we remain proudly defiant of passing trends and influences, steadfast in our commitment to crafting refined wines of elegance and balance, reflective not of winemaker ‘magic’, but rather as a fluent expression of the varietal and terroir from which our wines are born.
Three exquisite Napa Valley Estate Vineyards, our iconic Three Graces. Together, they represent almost a half-century of distinctive winemaking. Clos Du Val wines brilliantly capture the terroir of three world-class Napa Valley appellations, delivering finesse, complexity and balance.
Winemaker Kristy Melton
A native of El Paso, Texas, Kristy earned a degree in biology and animal science from Texas Tech’s Angelo State University. Following University, Kristy earned a prestigious position as an immunology researcher at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. While at the NIH, Kristy supplemented her income working as a bartender, and soon fell in love with wine. She also began her own bartending company, which provided services for events at the White House, State Department, and Smithsonian.
While viewing a winery laboratory during a trip to Napa Valley, Kristy saw an opportunity to combine her two biggest passions, science and wine. In 2005, trading in her beakers for barrels, Kristy became one of only seven students accepted in the UC Davis viticulture and enology masters program.
After earning her master’s degree, Kristy gained winemaking experience on two continents, at Seresin Estate in New Zealand, and at Iron Horse and Saintsbury in California. After three years as the enologist at Saintsbury, Kristy joined Clos Du Val as assistant winemaker in 2010. In this important role, Kristy was given oversight of Clos Du Val’s smaller-production wines, where she began a stylistic shift towards greater ripeness, more mid-palate depth and greater tannin integration. In recognition for the exceptional quality of these wines, Kristy was promoted to senior winemaker in 2012, becoming only the third winemaker in the storied four-decade history of Clos Du Val.
Since then, Kristy’s stylistic vision for Clos Du Val’s wines has expanded to encompass the entire portfolio. To achieve this vision, and further enhance quality, Kristy has instituted numerous changes, including picking later, working with Vineyard Manager Al Wagner to increase dappled sunlight in the vine canopy, adding cold soaks to the Cabernet program to increase color and aromatics, instituting earlier pumpovers to create greater tannin integration, utilizing new filtration methods to limit oxidation, and revamping the barrel program to focus on only the best coopers—all with the goal of preserving vineyard character, while adding nuance and silky textural elements.
Most important, beginning with the 2014 vintage, Kristy began making almost all of Clos Du Val’s wines exclusively from estate-grown fruit. Combining scientific rigor, a willingness to challenge convention, thoughtful winemaking and blending artistry, Kristy has ushered in a rich new chapter in the story of Clos Du Val. In 2013, Kristy was honored as one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s “Top 40 under-40 Tastemakers.”