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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.3 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 94 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by YackAttack213 on 11/3/2023 & rated 89 points: PnP: a little plummy backed by ripe blackberry fruit and seed, oak and chocolate and a good ~20 second finish, good acidity, restrained tannins. Overall, this is intense, concentrated, and suitable for pairing with a hearty meal (i.e. steak).
A good value for Napa cab. (1294 views) | | | Tasted by Jzizzle on 7/4/2023 & rated 92 points: Nice richness of dark fruit well balanced acidity and tannins and wood influence, all with good concentration. Plenty of fruit left and generally pretty restrained/elegant for Napa. Nice stuff! (1758 views) | | | Tasted by BaroloBucky on 3/27/2023 & rated 91 points: Last of a case. Still at peak IMO. My best guess tracking this wine over the past 4 years is it hit peak in 2021 and will start fading in 2025. Tannins are getting very soft. Nice fruit forward nose still. Palate has lead and leather complexity to go along with red and dark fruits. Nice wine. All you’d want from value to mid range Napa. Not overdone. (2188 views) | | | Tasted by matiasox@gmail.com on 11/21/2022 & rated 91 points: Classic Napa cab. Blackberry, pencil shavings, dusty, raspberry on the nose. Palate: well balanced, medium body, elegant, dusty raspberries, oak, a touch of vanilla and tobacco. (2800 views) | | | Tasted by LilSeb_58 on 11/18/2022 & rated 89 points: Nice, soft easy drinking wine. Medium bodied, deep color, dark fruits, trending toward plum. (2716 views) | | | Tasted by kdabs23 on 11/14/2022: Had with venison. Dark cherries, blackberries, leather. (1863 views) | | | Tasted by Wayno the Wino on 4/22/2022 & rated 88 points: I'm probably being hard on the scoring here simply because my expectations were maybe too high. Had this in the cellar for 3 years and at nearly twice the price of our daily wine, and 3x the reputation, I guess I expected to be transported. I wasn't. Decanted for an hour and spent an hour with my wife drinking and thinking about it...and it really was pretty much just a jammy Napa cab. Plenty of color...it'll sleep fine for a while. Through the whole bottle, I really only got eucalyptus and maybe some ripe blackberry on the nose. Moderate tannins which was nice, but then just jam, jam, jam, maybe compote?...no, jam through the bottle. Fine bottle of wine...I'm grateful to drink plenty of nice wine...but expected more from this one. (2818 views) | | | Tasted by agsdlswine on 12/12/2021 & rated 91 points: Aging nicely wi/good years still ahead. (3329 views) | | | Tasted by Chateau du Fey 1994 on 12/5/2021 & rated 91 points: Received as a gift. I’m not normally a big California Cab fan but i really liked this wine. Definitely on the “modern” side and lush but nicely refined and balanced. Would rebut. (2949 views) | | | Tasted by winecoffee on 11/18/2021 & rated 91 points: I am in my cab phase and loved this wine. Nose of anise, green vegetables, and petroleum. Palate is lush with chocolate, classic bell pepper as expected from a cab, tar, dried earth, and a touch of bitterness. Got it for $30. 91 points. Great value for the wine. (3139 views) | | | Tasted by Goodjob! on 10/1/2021 & rated 91 points: Classic Napa cab without too much oak flavour (3591 views) | | | Tasted by MatLot on 9/30/2021 & rated 90 points: good value nice wine for price good qrp for americab cab (2704 views) | | | Tasted by Sashimie on 6/4/2021: Not much to say that hasn't been said. Tart cherry, dark plum fruit, dense fine tannins, touch of oak, mineral streak. Touch of pencil shaving but otherwise great balance. Full of strength, classic. (2621 views) | | | Tasted by ldiehl on 3/6/2021 & rated 91 points: Balanced, drinking nicely with minimal aeration. (2651 views) | | | Tasted by Canoehead on 12/6/2020 flawed bottle: Corked - initially dismissed as funky with reduction that would dissipate but the mouldy cardboard aromas persisted. TCA (3570 views) | | | Tasted by mankam on 12/5/2020 & rated 90 points: Pleasant. A hint of Bordeaux. (1065 views) | | | Tasted by wcliao on 11/7/2020: typical CA CS with good tannic
enjoyable but bit of close when open
better after some decant
a decent/good wine (1218 views) | | | Tasted by GraffCellar on 10/9/2020 flawed bottle: Maybe some cork taint
Something is wrong with this bottle (1565 views) | | | Tasted by Freepirate on 9/4/2020 & rated 86 points: This wine tastes younger than its years. Very bright without a lot of depth. Tart cherry on the front with subtle tannins and not much sweetness or body. I really think this has at least 4 years to come together. Don’t drink before 2024! (3521 views) | | | Tasted by chuckos77 on 9/1/2020 & rated 89 points: The times that I have had this wine, it always seems a little soft and flabby. Not even sure what that means but it doesn't strike me as the type of wine that I prefer. We actually brightened it up by adding a 2005 Petite Verdot and it improved the wine I feel. Just adding a small amount of the PV seems to make the Cab jump and improved the brighten of the fruit. Quite interesting. (3445 views) | | | Tasted by Maphill01 on 7/1/2020: Beautifully typical Cabernet nose. Dark plum, black currants, oak, chocolate. Classic, powerful CA cab. (3581 views) | | | Tasted by LEEJV123 on 5/31/2020 & rated 93 points: Full, long, round, balanced. (3401 views) | | | Tasted by davidandrose on 5/23/2020 & rated 87 points: Fewer green notes than my tasting last year. Certainly easy to drink wine but lacking the depth, complexity or layering that I’d find in a wine I’d open on my own. (2917 views) | | | Tasted by Hpatel111 on 4/17/2020: A bit artificial, like a lot of California wines, plummy finish (2813 views) | | | Tasted by DavidWong168 on 3/29/2020 & rated 92 points: Deep, lush and sweet-fruited. Very enjoyable and time in bottle has tamped down the alcoholic heat. Silky tannins and long finish. (2945 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Steve Thurlow
WineAlign (8/14/2019)
(Stags' Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon red) Subscribe to see review text. | By David Lawrason
WineAlign (8/14/2019)
(Stags' Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (4/23/2018)
(Stags' Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of WineAlign. (manage subscription channels) |
| Stags' Leap Winery Producer website
NOTE: This is easily confused with Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, but Stags' Leap Winery is a different winery. [StagsLeap See details here].2015 Stags' Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley2015 NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Established in 1893, Stags’ Leap Winery is one of the oldest wine estates within the acclaimed Stags Leap District, producing wines expressive of its unique terroir. With an enduring winemaking philosophy that honors traditional techniques while embracing modern capabilities, and by using the finest grapes from our own 80-acre vineyard and from quality-focused growers, Stags’ Leap wines embody a natural balance, exhibiting both intensity and finesse, while bringing forth the inherent qualities of each variety.
VINTAGE:
After three years of plentiful harvests, the 2015 vintage resulted in a less abundant crop, but the quality remained exceptional. The mild, dry spring conditions promoted an early bud-break and minimal heat during summer allowed the fruit to ripen at a steady pace through picking, which began a few days earlier than 2014. The drier-than-normal conditions contributed to the smaller berry size and low yields, resulting in wines with outstanding concentration and flavor, making the overall season ideal for producing Cabernet Sauvignon of wonderful quality.
VINEYARDS:
Cabernet Sauvignon is synonymous with Napa Valley and has always been a mainstay in the winemaking program at Stags’ Leap Winery. Our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a combination of estate fruit and grapes from select Napa Valley growers with a focus on sourcing from the valley floor. Winemaker Christophe Paubert selects fruit that is similar in expression to the grapes from the Stags’ Leap estate, avoiding fruit from areas he considers to be too warm and instead sourcing grapes from the southern part of Napa Valley, where the climate is cooler. This strategic sourcing ensures the focus and character for which Stags’ Leap Cabernet Sauvignons are known.
WINEMAKING:
The first several weeks of a wine’s life are crucial. While the grapes for this wine were undergoing fermentation and maceration, Christophe and his team tasted and tested each lot daily to determine the pump overs regime, how much air the wine needed, and the best temperature to optimize maceration and extraction. After pressing off the skins, 37% of the wine went into new French oak barrels while the remainder went to seasoned French oak; this combination preserves freshness and gives the fruit more room to express itself. The wine aged for 20 months prior to bottling.
TASTING NOTES:
The 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and dark, with an abundance of blackberry, cherry and dark plum alongside nuances of lifted violet, sweet cinnamon and clove spice. On the palate, the dark berry fruits proliferate with blackberry, plum and cassis, but there is also a beautiful savory quality exhibiting notes of leather, tobacco and earth, giving this Cabernet a classic old-world feel and elegance. Seamlessly integrated oak and refined tannins provide a smooth mouthfeel and add layers of complexity, all wrapping up with a spicy lengthy finish. Incredibly approachable and pleasing upon release, this wine is sure to dazzle and pair well alongside many culinary treats.Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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