Clos Du Val

Clos Du Val was founded in 1972 by American businessman John Goelet and French winemaker Bernard Portet, conceived as a deliberately Bordeaux-inflected Napa estate. Portet, raised at Château Lafite-Rothschild where his father was technical director, brought a structural restraint to Napa Cabernet at a moment when the regional style was beginning to lean toward riper, more extracted wines. The estate sits in what would become the Stags Leap District AVA, designated in 1989, and was among the early estates to identify the sub-region's distinctive volcanic-derived alluvial terroir. Its 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon was selected for Steven Spurrier's 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting, the historic Bordeaux-versus-Napa blind tasting in which the Napa entries took several top positions.

• Founded 1972 by John Goelet (American) and Bernard Portet (French)
• Portet's father was technical director at Château Lafite-Rothschild
• Estate sits in what became the Stags Leap District AVA (1989)
• 1972 Cabernet entered in the 1976 Judgment of Paris blind tasting

On May 24, 1976, English wine merchant Steven Spurrier organized a blind tasting in Paris that compared top California Cabernets and Chardonnays against Bordeaux first growths and Burgundy white grand crus. Clos Du Val Cabernet Sauvignon 1972 was among the California Cabernets entered. While Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 took the highest position among reds, Clos Du Val's 1972 placed prominently in the same flight, helping establish the credibility that California Cabernet could stand alongside the world's most prestigious wines. The tasting's results, reported in Time magazine in June 1976, marked the moment Napa Cabernet entered the global fine-wine conversation.

• Spurrier's tasting held in Paris on May 24, 1976
• Clos Du Val 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon among the California red entries
• Time magazine coverage in June 1976 announced Napa Cabernet's arrival on the global stage
• Tasting transformed the perception of California fine wine internationally

The estate farms approximately 350 acres across the Stags Leap District and Carneros, including the Hirondelle Vineyard adjacent to the winery. Stags Leap District soils are volcanic-derived alluvium, contributing the sub-AVA's hallmark structural balance and supple tannin. The Carneros holdings to the south are cooler, clay-rich, and dedicated to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, capitalizing on the maritime influence from San Pablo Bay. The geographic split between Stags Leap District for Cabernet and Carneros for Burgundian varieties is consistent with the estate's Bordeaux-Burgundy reference frame.

• Approximately 350 acres total across Stags Leap District and Carneros
• Hirondelle Vineyard adjacent to the winery is the estate's signature Stags Leap parcel
• Stags Leap District: volcanic-derived alluvium for Cabernet and Bordeaux blends
• Carneros: cool, clay-rich soils for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

The estate's flagship is its Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon. Additional bottlings include a Hirondelle Vineyard estate Cabernet, Three-Graces (a Cabernet-led Bordeaux blend), Carneros Pinot Noir, and Carneros Chardonnay. The house style retains the lower-alcohol, structurally restrained character that defined the early Portet years, even as ownership and winemaking have evolved over the decades. This makes Clos Du Val a useful counter-reference for understanding the spectrum of Stags Leap District expressions, alongside more concentrated, fruit-forward neighbors.

• Flagship: Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon
• Hirondelle Vineyard estate Cabernet showcases the heart of the property
• Three-Graces Cabernet-led Bordeaux blend
• Carneros Pinot Noir and Chardonnay round out the portfolio

John Goelet sold the estate in 2009 to a partnership involving the Stamen and Cushman families, ending nearly four decades of founding ownership. Bernard Portet retired from active winemaking in 2010, marking the close of the original Goelet-Portet era. The estate has continued under the new ownership with stylistic continuity in the lower-alcohol, structurally restrained vein established by Portet, even as cellar techniques have modernized. Critical reception has remained solid through the ownership transitions, though the estate sits below the cult tier of Stags Leap District producers in pricing and visibility.

• John Goelet sold the estate in 2009
• New ownership partnership involves the Stamen and Cushman families
• Bernard Portet retired in 2010
• House style continuity maintained through the transition