Clos du Val Yettalil 2023

Yettalil draws you into the glass with captivating aromas of blackberry, plum, cherry compote, fresh sage, and spice. Expressive yet composed, the layers foretell a wine of character and complexity. As you taste, the wine sweeps across the palate with polished tannins and flavors of pure blackcurrant. Blend: 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Malbec, 10% Merlot Rich and seamless in the glass, the 2023 Yettalil is a standout. Plush contours wrap around a core of plum, espresso, incense, licorice and mocha. All the elements are so well balanced. This sumptuous, voluptuous Cabernet Sauvignon-based red hits all the right notes. It's a stellar wine from Clos du Val. This is the fourth time a Stag's Leap District wine has been elevated to Best In Show, and the second time that we've seen a Bordeaux blend rather than a wine that would qualify as a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc from this remarkable nested AVA within Napa. Our judges loved it: ‘powerful and persuasive' said one; others found it ‘long, poised and eloquent' and a wine of ‘notable finesse'. It's a saturated and opaque black-red in colour and aromatically articulate as well as intricate: behind the cascade of blackcurrant and blackberry you might find lavender, herbs, black pepper and eucalyptus, while the palate is packed out, beyond its powerful fruits, with graphite, earth, soft leather and liquorice root. The wine is a masterclass in tannin handling: fine suede on the tongue. Its acidity is a quiet undertow, giving the palate ample flow and swirl. This concentrated and authoritative Napa blend perfectly illustrates the virtues of a milder-than-usual vintage for the valley; it will age effortlessly for a decade or two.