Malcolm Jolley talks to Armen Khachaturian about the rebirth of Clos du Val…

Armen Khachaturian is one of the Bar Area’s top sommeliers and is the National Sales Director for the legendary Napa Valley wine estate, Clos du Val. Clos du Val was founded in 1972 by John and Henrietta Goelet, and remains Goelet family owned today. It was one of the participating wineries in the 1976 Judgement of Paris, and a founding winery of the Stags Leap AVA, Napa’s first, established in 1985. There’s a lot history at Clos du Val, but there’s also been a lot of change lately, which Khachaturian told me about, in the video below, when he was in town recently for the Napa Valley Vintners show earlier this month. Before we shot it, I had the chance to taste the 2015 Clos du Val Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($CAD 89.95 in Ontario at thevineagency.ca). I was very pleasantly surprised at how ‘Old World’ or Bordelais it showed, with great food friendly acid under all the big cassis fruit, and wanted to know more about what was happening at Clos du Val.

Email versions of this post will not display video. Please click here to see it on GFR.

Full disclosure: I met Khachaturian at the offices of The Vine Agency, who are Good Food Fighters. Please support the businesses and organizations that support Good Food Revolution.