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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 97 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by jviz on 9/19/2022 & rated 94 points: Beautiful showing, very clean and deep, pure cabernet fruits, with some blind tasters even narrowing the location down to stag’s leap. My notes got a little hazy at this point, but the wine was delicious and taught me a bit about label bias. (1452 views) | | | Tasted by Atwellian on 8/15/2021 & rated 88 points: Opaque purple-brownish-garnet with some bricking. Strong nose of alcohol, cherry, plum, leather. Pencilbox, black fruit, complex. Update day 3; Blackberry cassis nose. Not particularly well integrated, somewhat unpleasant savory/alcohol back end. Tobacco and leather mid-palate. I am not sure more time will improve. Ei liked (2267 views) | | | Tasted by ID on 6/12/2021: Alcoholic nose. Fleshy but simple on the palate. Mildly tannic. Short finish. (2334 views) | | | Tasted by bon vivant on 3/26/2021 & rated 92 points: Gave this about an hr decant in small decanter which proved to be perfect. Nice expression aromatically and flavor wise of of clean dark fruit with nice balance and complexity. Mature and at a good place while I don't see much upside in terms of additional development it should drink well for at least 3-5 years. (2621 views) | | | Tasted by norsktorsk on 2/21/2021 & rated 93 points: quote funky on opening but after 30-45 min air it was very nice (2673 views) | | | Tasted by skwishik on 12/5/2020: So good! (1986 views) | | | Tasted by jonLiechty on 5/30/2020 & rated 93 points: This is drinking exceptionally right now. 60 minute decant. Straight Napa on the nose. Strong red fruit and tannins all kinds of mellowed out. Had with some beyond sausage on the grill, Kale, and Quinoa to celebrate my 15th anniversary and 1 month birthday of our little dude. (1723 views) | | | Tasted by AngusRocks on 3/14/2020 & rated 94 points: Decanted for one hour. Perhaps we should have decanted it for longer. Couldn't tell if we liked it more toward the end because it opened up more or if we had just grew to love it more. One thing's for sure: It was fantastic. Earthy nose, but not barnyard. On the palate it was smoky and herbaceous, even tasting somewhat "floral." Not overly bold or undertadedly subtle, ths wine was a perfect middle. Terrific finish. This is the time to drink it! (1881 views) | | | Tasted by lewisrise on 2/15/2020 & rated 98 points: Nose of eucalyptus, cigar and burnt cherries. Plum and anise with a chocolate finish. 60 second finish. (1688 views) | | | Tasted by LWI on 10/5/2019 & rated 94 points: Much of everything, promising (1849 views) | | | Tasted by Bellbx on 4/21/2019 & rated 93 points: Decanted 2 hour. Paired with filet, fingerling potatoes cooked in duck fat and asparagus. On the nose: raspberry. Cigars. Dark chocolate and nutmeg. Palate was smooth as the tannins were present but not overwhelming. Nice long finish with hints of oak and rich fruit. (2361 views) | | | Tasted by lewisrise on 1/25/2019 & rated 93 points: Decanted three hours. Nose of burnt cherry and glycerin. Raspberry and cherry with vanilla and chocolate on the finish (2215 views) | | | Tasted by slapsht007 on 1/5/2019 & rated 91 points: Very nice drink! Complex, some muscle, but then subtle lasting finish. Very well balanced with any bright fruit having given way to dried dark fruits. Warm spices. Paired nicely with steak and rich demi-glacé but I could have drank this all night. (2080 views) | | | Tasted by sean7711 on 4/22/2018 & rated 93 points: Napa Weekend; 4/20/2018-4/23/2018 (Napa): Agree with the two recent notes. This was opened for our party at the winery after the estate tasting and showed amazingly well after 13 years. Pure class in a bottle, ordered a bottle from them - I think this would have 2-4 years left in it, but could be longer. Given my experience at the winery I will likely open this up soon after arrival. (3811 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 1/8/2018 & rated 92 points: Weekly tasting group RWP #271: "Older" wines (@ DJ): In the bouquet some red and black berries, bell pepper and vanilla from the oak. On the palate chocolate, sweet spices, oak, sweet spices, vanilla, red and black berries, some autumn forest, mild acidity and round, soft tannin. Beautiful wine. Completely ready now and the next few years. 91 - 92 (3776 views) | | | Tasted by jeffreylubowski on 8/26/2017 & rated 93 points: So I've had this wine three times in the last year or so. The first two times I would have said 96 and the best napa wine I ever had. The last bottle was still good, but just nowhere near those. So I put it somewhere in the middle. If going by the first couple of tastings, it really was like a 15 year old high quality pauillac. Just stony and graphite with some dark fruits and earth. Really amazing. I drink a lot of this because my friend is a member and it is a napa stalwart that deserves attention, but the bottle prices are nuts nowadays. (4107 views) | | | Tasted by 818wines on 6/10/2017 & rated 92 points: Beautiful balanced wine. (4014 views) | | | Tasted by Derhundsturm on 2/14/2017 & rated 92 points: Excellent. Had for valentines dinner on 2/14/2017. Weathered all the mishandling perfectly. Could have used a bit more decanting time . Had it decanted for about an hour, needs more (4270 views) | | | Tasted by Brianpboyd on 1/28/2017 & rated 95 points: Everything I'd hoped it would be. SLV is one of my all time favorites. It was full, complex and relatively youthful. I wouldn't wait too much longer though. (3433 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 1/2/2017 & rated 93 points: Weekly tasting group RWP #241: DJ's birthday, so a complete surprise. (@ DJ): In the bouquet dark forest fruits, beautiful oak and sweet spices. On the palate dark forest fruits, chocolate, good and fresh acidity and also lush. The tannin is round and soft. Beautiful and mature wine. Will drink lovely over the next 2+ years. (4259 views) | | | Tasted by dfusina on 1/1/2017 & rated 91 points: Still strong. Hasn't lost its fruit. (2678 views) | | | Tasted by MAXIMUM SATISFACTION on 12/10/2016 & rated 91 points: Better than the last bottle. Had as a pop n pour and definately did not need decanting. Fully integrated tannins with bright flavors of bitter blackberry, red fruit, vanilla, and oak. Mature notes of smoke, leather, and stewed fruits. Texturally remained grainy never really smoothing out. Has likely already peaked but still has 5 years or so to go. (2380 views) | | | Tasted by yaki on 12/4/2016 & rated 93 points: Purchased at the winery upon release. Cork is clean and shows no sign of seepage. Color is deep ruby in the glass with a slight fading rim. Earthy aromas of eucalyptus, olive, cedar and blackberry. The palate brings more blackberry, black cherry and a touch of mushroom. Acidity is medium and tannins are fine but still present on the medium plus length finish. Shows some similarity to a mature Old World wine. Very nice and drinking well now, although I'm not sure how much room for further improvement there is remaining. (1928 views) | | | Tasted by Iacs on 10/20/2016 & rated 96 points: Still a favorite. This one showed a little age in the color. (2188 views) | | | Tasted by sporens on 5/29/2016 & rated 97 points: Great sweet opening with smooth delivery and gentle finish (2761 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Producer website
NOTE: This is easily confused with Stags' Leap Winery, but Stag's Leap Wine Cellars is a different winery. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars is considered one of Napa Valley's first-growths. "We were founded by Warren Winiarski and his family in 1970 and are best known for our estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignons — CASK 23, S.L.V., and FAY. Over the years, our wines have become some of the most highly regarded and collected wines worldwide. They are fashioned to express classic elegance, structure, and ageability, and to reflect the place in which they are grown." Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was known only in the Napa Valley until the now-famous 1976 Paris Tasting, when Winiarski's 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon, the first wine produced at the new winery, bested four top-ranked Bordeaux entries, including first-growths Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Haut-Brion. The tasting landed Stag's Leap Wine Cellars squarely among the ranks of the world's most noteworthy Cabernet producers and placed Winiarski among the ranks of world's most respected winemakers. It also fundamentally transformed how Californian wines were viewed worldwide [StagsLeap See details here].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)Stags Leap District Stags Leap District |
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