Clos du Val, Hirondelle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District, California 2019 (14.5%)

closduval.com

The Stags Leap District of Napa has been a consistent performer over the years at the DWWA: its balanced, digestible wines with their distinctive combination of plush fruits and poised, intrinsically complex flavours often win our judges’ approval. This Cabernet Sauvignon from the promising 2019 vintage is midnight-black in colour, its aromas (at this youthful stage) full of floral charm and ripe, tender blue and black fruits. The tannins are delicate and the fruit-infused acidity is soft and gentle. The wine has clearly been made with little extractive force in order to provide an overall picture of great refinement and subtlety – yet the quality of the raw materials here guarantees a long future, as does the wine’s inner wealth.

‘I do not come from a wine background,’ concedes Olav Goelet, Clos du Val’s thirdgeneration owner and director of winemaking. ‘My prior career was in aquaculture production management.’ Dig a fraction, however, and it’s clear that Goelet’s antecedents were in deep: ‘My grandfather’s family were wine merchants in Bordeaux dating back to the early 1800s,’ he says.

‘In the 1960s my grandparents longed to find a location outside Bordeaux where they could produce exceptional Bordeaux varietal wines. In 1968 they teamed up with Bernard Portet, a young and aspiring French winemaker, and began a journey in search of the ideal location. Over the course of two years Bernard spent time in Australia, South Africa, South America and California before he found this place in Napa that is now known as the Stags Leap District.’

Pure Cabernet Sauvignon (just 500 cases made), the vineyard in question sits on rich, sandy loam soils with influences of volcanic rock. ‘The beauty of our microclimate is the exposure to the cool breeze from San Pablo Bay,’ says Goelet.

‘The cool air funnels up the valley, bringing down temperatures during summer evenings and providing the grapes respite as they ripen. This helps to produce beautiful fruit.’