Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/661678
DEPART- Napa Renaissance Clos du Val's Director of Sales Sean Gallagher was pleased at the surprise from the room when he unveiled the Clos du Val 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. The panel was already acquainted with Clos du Val given its history—the 1972 Clos du Val Cabernet was one of the six Cabs selected for the famed 1976 Judgement of Paris—but it's also seen as a value-driven, high-production wine. That said, tasting it blind, a few of us on the panel called it a French Bordeaux! Says Sean, "We've been around since 1972, located on 150 acres of the Stags Leap District. We're going through a renaissance right now and 2013 is just the beginning of it. With a new, respected team of leaders at the helm—President Steve Tamburelli, Director of Operations Jon-Mark Chappellet and Winemaker Ted Henry—we're heading towards sustainability and cutting our production of Cabernet by half. We're building a winery within a winery. Stainless steel tanks and 16-ton fermenters so we can isolate lots and ferment them separately. New micro-crush pad and new barrel program. In short, we're making a huge investment towards quality. The wine that I brought today is the beginning of this journey for us, moving towards the terroir- driven, vibrant style—a more elegant, heavier mid-palate solid wine. In terms of where we've been in the past, we were value-driven and now the owners wanted to catch up with what's going on with our neighbors." The 2013 Clos du Val Cab is 92% Cabernet, 7% Merlot and 1% Petite Sirah and aged 18 months in 25% new oak. TASTING NOTES: Rebekah Turpin: Black raspberry, cassis and violets. A pretty and enticing nose. The fruit is elegant in nature and plays well with the bright tannin in this wine. Not too overbearing or in your face. Nicely balanced. Quite charming and one of my favorites of this tasting. Scott Reesman: Soft, supple, red fruits, red cherry, dark chocolate, toasted herbs, black olive and burnt earth. My guess would be a Right Bank Pomerol. Meridith May: Tobacco and new leather seat with a tight tannin structure. When the fruit shows through, it comes in light, dainty shadows of rhubarb and cranberry. High-acid, Old World style. Elegant and medium in power on the palate Lodi Leader Keeping with the pioneering families theme, the LangeTwins 2011 Midnight Reserve, Lodi was presented next. But this family goes way back; in fact, the Langes have been in Lodi since the 1870s. Susanne Allen, LCF Western Division Sales Manager, says, "They began farming winegrapes in 1916, and have vineyards that they still manage and harvest that their grandfather planted." This particular blend of Lodi grapes consists of 52% Petit Verdot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Malbec and is aged 24 months predominantly in new French oak. I know I'm not the first somm to say this, but it's high time we give Lodi a little credit. As an AVA it's cooler than the rest of the Central Valley—the bulk wine area of California— because of a gap that pulls cool air in from the San Francisco Bay. TASTING NOTES: *I should note we tasted both 2011 and 2012. For me, they were quite similar but certainly the 2011 reflected a cooler vintage. Meridith May: Nose reveals a blackstrap molasses, date and milk chocolate. The palate is a masculine composition of cigar leaf, Worcestershire with a tart blackberry and cedar. Marianna Caldwell: A very floral, feminine nose. Roses and violets. Ripe plum and mulberry with a dark chocolate note. This is a tar and rose mix. Rebekah Turpin: Noses of cedar spice, plum and a savory qual- ity. More fruit on the palate—black raspberry, plum and a linger- ing, mocha finish. Strong sense of vanilla and spice on the finish. Sean Gallagher, Clos du Val Director of Sales, with Clos du Val 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. Susanne Allen, LCF Western Division Sales Manager. april 2016 / the tasting panel / 107