Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is started by political-science lecturer Warren Winiarski, who decided to move to Napa Valley to pursue his dream of winemaking. He started as a cellar rat at Sonoma’s Souverain Cellars, and subsequently went to Robert Mondavi Winery.

He gained a lot of experience and decided to own his own vineyard, so in 1970 he bought 18 hectares in what became Stags Leap District and planted Cabernet Sauvignon, calling it Stag’s Leap Vineyard (SLV), with first vintage at 1972. The next year he made 1800 cases and aged them in new but lightly toasted French oak for 21 months, based on the advice of Andre Tchelistcheff, a great winemaker.

This 1973 vintage was later chosen by Steven Spurrier in the later Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976, and received the highest number of points, outsourcing Mouton Rothschild and Haut-Brion. The report was printed in Time magazine and started the world’s attention of California wines.

Winiarski admired the wines from his adjoining neighbor, Nathan Fay of the Fay vineyard, and was able to buy it in 1986, producing the first vintage in 1990. Whereas SLV has some Merlot in the field, Fay is almost all Cabernet Sauvignon, except for a few rows of Petit Verdot.

The winery however did produce other wines including some Chardonnay, but the heart is the two Cabernet vineyards. These vineyards are both of volcanic soil towards the slopes of the Palisades, and alluvial soils on the flatter land where the winery is located.

The wines from the flatter sector have more softness and flesh, while those higher up have greater concentration. The Fay is usually more perfumed and delicate, while the SLV more robust and structured. The grapes from the two vineyards are picked and vinified separately.

There is a third Cabernet called Artemis, which is a blend of about one-third estate fruit with two-thirds purchased fruit. In the great 1974 vintage Warren found one batch of wine he liked so much that he bottled is separately, calling it Cask 23, thereafter becoming a policy that in outstanding years, to produce a blend that reflected the best vintage.

This wine, Cask 23, is typically only of 1000 to 2000 cases, produced in best years. The best wines could age very well, as proven when the 1973 Cabernet was re-tasted in 2006. In 2007 Warren decided to sell the company, to a partnership between the Tuscan Antinori and Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington State.

Warren still lives on the property and takes an active part in promoting the wines. Now the chief winemaker is Nikki Pruss, who was preceded by Michael Silacci, who is now at Opus One.

I have recently tasted the 2000 vintage of Cask 23 and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has medium ruby color, with garnet rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity of black fruit such as blackcurrant and blackberry, oak notes of smoke and cedar, mineral notes of earth and lead, maturity notes of savory, sweet spice of cloves, pungent spice of licorice, kernel notes of toasted almond. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and silky texture. Medium (+) in alcohol, it has medium (+) body and medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as cassis and blackberry, oak notes of smoke and cedar, sweet spice of cloves, maturity notes of sweet tobacco and game, pungent spice of licorice. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality high-priced Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with intense nose of high complexity, the wine demonstrating the top-notch California Cabernet and illustrated how it can compete with the best in the Old World. Elegant yet in firm structure, the wine has perfect balance, with concentrated palate and a long finish. Ready to drink now, it is at its peak now but can still be kept for another 3-5 years.