A library tasting with Clos du Val's Bernard Portet
In wine as in Life, some things change and some things stay the same.
Some things change slowly, like tradition or the slope of a hill. Some things change very quickly, like fashion or personal taste - as anyone who has fallen quickly and inexplicably in and out of love will attest.
Bernard Portet, vice chairman of Napa Valley's Clos du Val has been at the heart of the wine industry's tastes and traditions for decades.
A seventh-generation winegrower, raised amid the vineyards and chateaux of France's famed Bordeaux region, the twenty-something Portet was tapped in 1970 by businessman John Goelet to search the world for the next great wine region. He took soil samples in South Africa, observed sun-bathed Andean slopes in Argentina, measured wind velocity in New Zealand.
Along the way, his baggage carried more than a change of socks. "As a Frenchman, my first consideration is always terroir, the wine's expression of soil and climate, not whatever style the winemaker chooses to superimpose on the wine."
He heard of a little valley in the U.S., north of San Francisco in California, so he booked travel and drove up Highway 29, to visit the twenty-plus wineries along the way. He found wines with exciting expression of fruit, ripened in rich California sunshine, but too high in alcohol, too low in acidity, resulting from hot temperatures. The he turned his car eastward, toward the Silverado Trail.
It was a twist of fate that the car was not equipped with air conditioning. With his windows rolled down, Portet felt a cool afternoon breeze as the Silverado Trail climbed into the Vaca Mountains.
The Vacas define the eastern border of Napa Valley, culminating in Mount St. Helena, the region's highest peak. They formed as the San Andreas fault caused the earth to buckle, stacking massive rocks atop each other only to break again into three ridgelines.
Portet had found his terroir: rich sunshine with cool nights coupled with slopes of diverse, rocky and volcanic soil. Ending his journey of two years and five continents, he returned to France for conference with Goelet, who subsequently purchased 150 acres along the Silverado Trail. In 1972, they named the property Clos du Val, "a little vineyard in a valley." Then Goelet said to the young Frenchman, "Do you want to go back?" He did.
Under Portet's direction, Clos du Val became a cornerstone of region, which in 1989 was recognized for its unique terroir as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) - the Stags Leap District (SLD).
At a recent tasting, Portet described his terroir's expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, considered the King of Stags Leap District: Rich ruby in color, not inky as in other Napa sub-regions. A broad, exuberant aroma. Intense fruit flavors coupled with uniquely soft tannin, the "rock soft" of Stags Leap District.
Portet's library wines reinforce the flavors of Stags Leap, and add the age-ability of Clos du Val Cabernet:
1985 Reserve: An elegantly-aged gentleman. A round bouquet of plums, herbs, tobacco and truffle introduces a fresh palate with rich evolved core flavors, even after 23 years of maturation. "If a wine is balanced in youth, it will remain balanced throughout its life," says Portet.
1992 SLD: Deep ruby with exuberantly perfumed bouquet and bright fruit accented by firm tannin.
2001 SLD: After replanting with phylloxera-resistant Cabernet Clone 337, Portet thought "I really goofed." The wines didn't develop for many years, but in today's tasting expressed spicy aromas and pretty red fruits framed by delicate tannin.
2004 SLD: The replanted vineyards have now reached maturity, expressing a bouquet integrated with fruit, spice, herbs and earth and a refreshing palate of black currants, licorice and juniper with vibrant tannin and will mature, based on Clos du Val's history, for a decade or more. (Currently available in wine shops, about $70.)
Over luncheon, Portet shared his winemaking philosophy: "The purpose of wine is to integrate with food, to help food taste delicious. Delicious wine and food makes a dining experience. A dining experience cements friendship."
The enjoyment of wine and food cementing friendship? This is one thing we hope never changes.
• Advanced Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator Mary Ross writes Good Wine twice a month. Write her at food@dailyherald.com.
Ross' choice
Cabernet Sauvignon
2004
Lone Oak Vineyard Estate
Jackson County, Mich.
• Suggested retail and availability: About $21.95 at the winery and Michigan wine and gourmet shops
On your next trip toward Ann Arbor, stop into Lone Oak to taste shining examples of our American vineyard. In addition to the ripe, complex and mouth-watering Cab, selections from this husband and wife team include a firm and plumy "Vin du Roi" Bordeaux blend, a lush Riesling and a raspberry wine, aromatic and enticing enough to dab behind your ears. Visit loanoaksvineyards.com for directions, retail outlets and a swell time lapse depiction of the 2004 vintage.