Clos Du Val 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

The Clos du Val 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon doesn’t state its ambition loudly—it walks in with quiet refinement. The nose offers purple plum and cassis, laced with black olive, fig, and toasted cedar. There’s a savory seam, the kind that grows from soil rather than barrel, giving the wine dimension before it even hits the palate. 

On tasting, the wine unfolds with calm precision. The fruit is lush, a blend of plush dark berries folding into graphite-edged tannins and brisk acidity. You feel a sweep of slate and black tea in the mid-palate, giving lift without dilution. Then the finish—long, smooth, balanced, the kind that stays without trying to stay. 

That composure begins in place. Clos du Val farms estate vineyards along the Silverado Trail in both Stags Leap and Yountville—ground rooted in Napa’s heritage, with soils shaped by the Vaca Range and floods of sediment and volcanic remnants. Founded in 1972, Clos du Val helped define Napa’s place in modern wine when its 1972 Cab took a surprise nod in the Judgment of Paris. 

The 2022 growing season played to the vineyard’s strengths. A gentle spring, summer warming, and a heat spike in September were followed by welcome rain—allowing fruit to ripen without rush and retain acid and poise. The winemaking leans supportive: native fermentation, respectful oak (old barrels), and aged with grace, not show. 

This isn’t Cabernet that broadcasts its pedigree. It’s Cabernet that invites conversation, not command attention. Pair it with grilled lamb, aged cheese, or open it when your evening unfolds slow and free.

Clos du Val 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon—weight borne quietly, presence carried with purpose.