Clos du Val - where to begin?

This winery was recommended to us by a our server at Domaine Carneros.  I will preface this review with the knowledge that he ended up batting .500 at the end of our trip with his recommendations.

Clos du Val is set at the base of a very scenic hill, and the tasting facility reminded me of a grand old barn.  Walking around the building from the parking lot and through some of the largest doors I’d seen in my life, I was surprised to find a smallish bar area with no one tasting and two people behind the bar.  What made this even more interesting was that the fellow who fancied himself in charge was berating the other employee behind the bar (a young woman) about some seemingly trivial detail about pouring a bottle of wine through an aerator.

Shortly thereafter, we were finally acknowledged (after being looked up and down) and asked if we were interested in a tasting.  While the tasting sheet had two tiers, we were told that we would probably only enjoy the first (cheaper) tier that consisted 50% of whites.  Off to a great start.

After this brilliant introduction to Clos du Val, I had nothing but the highest hopes for their wines.  To be totally honest, the tasting aspect of this stop was very disappointing.  The wines were very expensive, with cabs starting at $32 and topping out at $105, and also very mediocre. 

In closing, I would suggest that you not waste your time with this one.  There are so many good wineries, why bother?

On the upside, Turnbull was our next stop - and we had a completely different experience here.  Turnbull is sweet.

Happy Drinking,
Ryan