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ARTISAN WINE & SPIRITS · MOUNTAIN VIEW
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★ A 1976 Judgment of Paris Icon Returns · Clos du Val 2023
5 Critics 91–94 Points · Winery $60 · Yours $49.97 · 30 Bottles
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CLOS DU VAL · STAGS LEAP DISTRICT · FOUNDED 1972 · 2023 VINTAGE
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A Stags Leap District Cabernet · 50+ Years of Napa Pedigree
A 1976 Judgment of Paris Icon.
Back in Stunning Form for 2023.
A founding Stags Leap District winery, in the room when California
proved it could rival Bordeaux. Five critics, 91–94 points. $49.97.
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94
Wine
Enthusiast
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94
James
Suckling
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92
Vinous
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91
Jeb
Dunnuck
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91
Wine
Advocate
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Winery Price: $60.00
$49.97
Save $10.03 per bottle vs the winery
⚠ Only 30 Bottles in Stock
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The Stags Leap District Legacy
In the Room When California
Proved It Could Rival Bordeaux.
In 1972, French winemaker Bernard Portet — whose father had spent thirty-five years as the technical director at Château Lafite-Rothschild — arrived in Napa Valley to found a Bordeaux-inspired winery in what was then a quiet stretch of vineyards east of the Silverado Trail. He called it Clos du Val. The "stags leap" district he chose to plant in had no formal AVA. It had no global reputation. What it had was the kind of east-facing volcanic and alluvial soils Portet recognized from home.
Four years later, in 1976, the famous Judgment of Paris tasting placed California Cabernets and Chardonnays head-to-head against the great Bordeaux Premiers Crus and white Burgundies. Clos du Val's 1972 Cabernet was one of the California wines on the table. California won. Bordeaux took it personally. The wine world reset overnight, and the Stags Leap District — a sliver of vineyards Portet had bet on four years earlier — became one of the most decorated AVAs on earth.
Fifty-plus years later, Clos du Val is still family-owned, third-generation, and still making Bordeaux-inspired Cabernet from the same district. The new 2023 vintage is being called the strongest entry-level Napa Cabernet release the cellar has produced in years. Five major critics — Wine Enthusiast, James Suckling, Vinous, Jeb Dunnuck, and Wine Advocate — all landed it between 91 and 94 points. The winery prices it at $60. We have it at $49.97.
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⚠ 30 Bottles in Stock · $10 Below the Winery
Clos du Val
Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Napa Valley · Stags Leap District · 750mL · 75% CS / 10% Merlot / 6% CF / 5% Malbec / 4% PV · Drink 2025–2035
Winery: $60.00
$49.97 / bottle · save $10.03
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What a Stags Leap District Napa Cab Costs in a Restaurant
A 5-critic 91–94 point Stags Leap Cabernet commands serious wine-list pricing. Your price is a different conversation.
| Venue |
Per Bottle |
| Fine Dining (Michelin / Steakhouse) |
$140–$180 |
| Upscale Wine Country / Bay Bistro |
$110–$140 |
| Winery Tasting Room |
$60.00 |
| Your Price (Artisan Wine) |
$49.97 |
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The Critics · Five Authorities, One Verdict
WE 94 · JS 94 · VM 92 · JD 91 · WA 91
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94 · Wine Enthusiast · "Concentration with Verve Are a Highlight"
"An expressive vintage with the potential to age, this Cabernet from Clos du Val captures the inky dark fruits, dark chocolate, and cascade of fresh herbs so classic to the cuvee with the intensity and lengthy structure of the vintage. Concentration with verve are a highlight."
— Elaine Chukan Brown, Wine Enthusiast (May 2026)
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94 · James Suckling · "Refined and Earth-Driven… Drink Now or Cellar"
"Refined and earth-driven, showing tightly wound black-fruit aromas with underlying notes of graphite, bitter chocolate and cured meats. The palate is focused and pure with finely tuned tannins and a generous yet precise palate. A lovely wine to drink now or to cellar. Drink or hold."
— James Suckling (June 2025)
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92 · Vinous · "Seriously Beautiful from Start to Finish"
"The 2023 is seriously beautiful from start to finish. Rose petal, spice and new leather meld into a core of dark red/purplish fruit. There's a good bit of tannin, making this a pretty serious appellation wine. 2026–2035."
— Vinous
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91 · Jeb Dunnuck · "A Smoking Value · Impeccably Made"
"Wonderfully pure cassis and darker berries intermixed with tobacco, graphite, and some savory herb nuances. It's medium-bodied and nicely concentrated, with ripe tannins and good overall balance. This smoking value represents impeccably made, satisfying, balanced Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink 2026–2033."
— Jeb Dunnuck
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91 · Robert Parker's Wine Advocate · "A Super Value in Ready-to-Drink Napa Cab"
"A super value in ready-to-drink Napa Cab, Clos du Val's 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon is actually a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot. Black cherries dominate the nose, joined by hints of cassis and tobacco leaf, while the medium- to full-bodied palate is firm without being hard or edgy and finishes long and silky. 2025–2035."
— Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
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Six Reasons This Bottle Belongs in Your Cellar
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① A 1976 Judgment of Paris Cellar
Clos du Val's 1972 Cabernet was one of the California wines in the famous tasting that proved California could match Bordeaux. Fifty-plus years later, the cellar is still family-owned and still making Cabernet from the same district.
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② Five Critics, 91–94 Points
Wine Enthusiast 94, James Suckling 94, Vinous 92, Jeb Dunnuck 91, Wine Advocate 91. No critic below 91. The most consistent five-critic showing on a Stags Leap entry-tier Cabernet in years.
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③ Bernard Portet's Bordeaux DNA
Founding winemaker Bernard Portet's father spent 35 years as the technical director at Château Lafite-Rothschild. Clos du Val's style has always been Bordeaux-inspired — structured, age-worthy, restrained.
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④ Stags Leap District Pedigree
One of the founding wineries of the Stags Leap AVA — the Napa sub-appellation now considered one of the most exalted Cabernet sites on earth. The same dirt that produces $300+ Stags Leap Cabernets.
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⑤ $10 Below the Winery Price
The Clos du Val tasting room sells this bottle for $60. We have it at $49.97 — save $10.03 per bottle. At restaurant pricing on a 91–94 point Stags Leap Cab you'd pay $110–$180.
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⑥ Drink Now or Cellar Through 2035
The 2023 is approachable now (per JS: "drink now or cellar"; per WA: "ready-to-drink") with serious cellar runway through 2035 per multiple critics. A wine that drinks well tonight and rewards patience for a decade.
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The Artisan Insider Verdict
"Clos du Val is one of the great living legacies of California wine — a founding Stags Leap District cellar that was on the table in 1976 when Bordeaux discovered Napa was for real. Fifty-plus years later, still family-owned, still making structured Bordeaux-style Cabernet. The 2023 is the strongest entry-tier release I've tasted from them in years — five critics 91 to 94, no one below 91. At $49.97, ten dollars below the winery's own tasting room, this is one of the cleanest Napa Cabernet values in the shop. Thirty bottles."
— James Tran · Artisan Wine & Spirits
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★ A 1976 Judgment of Paris Icon · Clos du Val 2023 ★
Five Critics. 91–94 Points.
Stags Leap District Cabernet.
$49.97 · $10 Below the Winery.
Wine Enthusiast 94, James Suckling 94, Vinous 92, Jeb Dunnuck 91, Wine Advocate 91. The Stags Leap District founding cellar that was on the 1976 Judgment of Paris table, returning in stunning form for 2023. Bordeaux-style blend, third-generation family-owned. The winery sells it for $60. We have it at $49.97. Thirty bottles in stock. Drink now or cellar through 2035.
⚠ 30 Bottles in Stock · First-Come, First-Served
Cheers,
— James Tran · Artisan Wine & Spirits
sales@artisan.wine
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