1997 Stags' Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Community Tasting Notes (55) Avg Score: 91.1 points

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  8/6/2021 - mru12000 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Cork in good shape despite age; color deep red with a clear halo; Nose black fruits and esters; very pleasant mouth feel with fruit and sweetness and a medium fruit and tannin (a bit) finish; Surprisingly good give other reviews;

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  4/16/2021 - Adventr.us Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Well, I was afraid I'd waited too long on this one, given the CT drink by dates and historical reviews. I've had this on my "drink now" rack for a few years. But my tastes have shifted, and I've been drinking far more "destination wines" (obscure varietals from regions I've adventured in, like Croatia or the Swiss Alps or even North Dakota or Arizona). So I just never found an opportunity to open this. But tonight was sous vide Bison ribeyes with a mushroom sauce ... and if not now, when? I figured if it was badly faded, I'd pour it out and drink the more modest Napa Cab I opened for cooking the mushroom sauce.
  
  To my surprise, this Stags' Leap is drinking beautifully. I pulled the crumbling cork to give it about 2 hours of air, then decanted. The tannins are fading, but certainly not gone. I'm tasting plenty of dark berry fruit, with perhaps some modest secondary and tertiary notes, but really, there's more fruit right up front than I was expecting. Everything's in balance, there's a nice structure to it, it has no problem standing up to the bison. I don't know if this will get better, and this is my last bottle anyways - but I think if it had taken me another year or two to get to this one, it'd still show real well.

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  1/15/2020 - orange boy wrote: 90 Points

  bit old Covidian opened cork spilled as held in wine cellar OK

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  3/1/2017 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:

  Really lovely right now. Served double-blind, I was thinking a really nice mature Brunello - of the high-scoring sort. One of the big shockers when this was revealed - which is to say if all California Cabs were this elegant, I'd still be drinking them. Bravo to these folks for marching to their own drum. Really elegant now, this has the structure and balance to last another five years with no problem. 13,8% abv. highly recommended
  
  Not sure if this bottle was representative; if not, what great luck to have this kind of (positive) bottle variation. Classy.

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  2/14/2015 - beezer6 wrote: 91 Points

  Taste at FHE.
  Showing well - still young even.
  Touch age in the color but there's still ripe and slightly stewed red fruit on the nose.
  Herbs, potpourri, dried vegetables. Aged green pepper.
  A little menthol. Clean finish.

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