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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars building |
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was founded in 1970 by Warren Winiarski
of Napa who loved the wines
produced by Nathan Fay and purchased an adjacent property of 44 acres that had
been planted with prune trees and some grape vines. The 1973 vintage was the first S.L.V.
Cabernet Sauvignon produced. In 1986,
sixteen years after the purchase of the S.L.V. vineyard, Winiarski purchased
the adjacent vineyard from Nathan Fay and named it FAY Vineyard in his
honor. This vineyard had been planted with
Cabernet Sauvignon in 1961 and was the first Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in this
area which was designated as Stags Leap District in 1989. In 1990 S.L.V. was
placed under a conservation easement with the Napa Count Land Trust, guaranteeing
that the land will remain agricultural land in perpetuity. This was the first arrangement of this kind
in Napa Valley Mount George
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars entry to wine cave |
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars garden |
During our most recent visit we were provided with a tour in
addition to the tasting and had the great pleasure of having Anna Carminito,
the VIP Trade Coordinator, as our host. A tour at Stag's Leap is well worth while,
especially with their amazing wine caves with 34,000 square feet of tunnels
that can hold 5,300 barrels of wine. The
cave entrance, called The Arcade, was designed by Javier Barba from Barcelona ,
and is in itself a work of art. The
center of the cave has the Round Room where a Foucault pendulum is suspended
from the ceiling, demonstrating the rotation of the earth. It is one of only about fifty Foucault pendulums in the
world. The grounds are also lovely, and
they are building a new visitor center that will have amazing views and will be
open later this year.
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars entry to wine caves |
Our tasting actually began at the tasting bar prior to the
tour. We were provided with an initial
pour of the Stag's Leap 2011 Napa Valley
Sauvignon Blanc that sells for $26. It
was made from 59% Sauvignon Musque (a clonal variant of Sauvignon Blanc) plus
41% Sauvignon Blanc. Most of the fruit came from one of their estate vineyards
in Oak Knoll District but 26% was sourced from Rancho Chimiles Vineyard in
Wooden Valley, the later giving it some citrus and mineral notes. 76% was aged in previously used French oak
barrels and 24% in stainless steel. It
received no malolactic conversion. I got a fairly good nose of melon, pineapple
and white peach. On the palate I got
mostly peach in a smooth, creamy presentation that emphasized the fruit but
still had some minerality. Balance was
good, and it had a medium length finish.
This was not very French in style, not nearly as crisp and dry, but many
people should find its rather fruit forward presentation to be appealing, and
it is quite decent for the price.
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars front patio |
Our second taste came after the tour and was at a tasting
table where we could sit and concentrate on the wines. We chose to sit inside rather than outside
because of the wind which would make it difficult to appreciate the aromas of
the wines. This second pour was the Stag's Leap 2012 Karia Chardonnay at $34. It is from grapes from Arcadia
Vineyard in Coombsville and Danika Ranch in Oak Knoll. 85% of it was aged in oak with 20% being new
oak. The other 15% was in stainless
steel. It underwent 20% malolactic
conversion. I got a good nose of pear, peach and apple with the same on the
palate. It was fairly well balanced with
good acidity but a somewhat short finish.
Quite pleasant at this price, so I purchased a bottle to try later.
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars tasting room entry |
Third up was the Stag's
Leap 2012 Arcadia Vineyard Chardonnay at $50. I could only find production notes on the
2011 but assume this is 100% Chardonnay, that it saw minimal malolactic
conversion and a restrained amount of new French oak. I got a really good nose of pear and peach
with some floral notes. It was very
nicely balanced with mostly white peach, apple, pear and some lemon and vanilla
with good, well integrated acid. It had
a medium plus length finish, better than the Karia, but then it is also 30%
more in price. I found it very appealing,
somewhat French in style, and purchased some.
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars border between FAY (left of row of trees) and S.L.V. vineyards |
We moved on to the red wines next with the Stag's Leap 2010 Napa Valley Merlot at
$45. This is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet
Sauvignon. The Merlot came mostly from
their Danika Ranch in Oak Knoll District and the Cab came from their FAY and
S.L.V. Vineyards. The wine was aged for 17 months in French oak with 26% new
oak. I got a good nose of red cherry
with some spices. On the palate it was
very nicely balanced with red cherry and spice, chewy tannins and a medium
length finish. The structure was quite
decent for a Merlot, probably due mostly to the additional Cab. A very pleasant and drinkable Merlot.
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars FAY Vineyard |
The Stag's Leap 2011
Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon at $55 was next.
It is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and
14% Merlot and was sourced from various Napa
Valley
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Vineyard with mustard blooms |
Their three signature Cabernets were next, beginning with
the Stag's Leap 2010 FAY Cabernet Sauvignon at $110. This 100% Cab saw 19 months in French oak
with 89% of that being new oak. It began
with a very fragrant aroma of black cherry, black currant and savory spice. On the palate it was full bodied and lush
with red cherry, toasty oak, tobacco, vanilla, with hints of cedar and savory
and a medium length finish. A really
nice Cab with a unique sense of terroir or origin; no wonder it was rated 93 points
by the well known critic, Antonio Galloni.
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars back patio |
We were able to compare the FAY to the Stag's Leap 2010 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon that retails at $125. This is also 100% Cabernet and was aged for
21 months in French oak with 94% new oak.
It did not have the great aroma of the FAY, but still had a good nose of
blackberry, toasted oak and coffee. On
the palate it was all black fruit with much more minerality than the FAY, also
with bolder tannins and more structure.
The finish was very nice and longer than the FAY. Although quite drinkable now (for me) I'd say
this is the one to lay away and the FAY is the one to drink immediately. Antonio Galloni rated this one at 94 points,
and it is a matter of personal preference whether you prefer the FAY or S.L.V.
I loved both of them. It is really
interesting to taste the FAY and S.L.V. side by side because the vineyards are
right next to each other, are made into 100% Cab by the same winemaker and yet
they are so different. The S.L.V. and
the FAY both have their individual personalities that make them unique from
other Cabs. It is a good example of why
some people, such as myself, find terroir so interesting and appealing.
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars garden |
Their flagship CASK 23 Cabernet was our last pour, although
we still had glasses of the other Cabs for comparison. This was the Stag's Leap 2010 CASK 23 Cabernet Sauvignon at $225. Back in 1974 when the famous Andre
Tchelistcheff was assisting them, some blocks from the S.L.V. vineyard were so
exceptional that they decided to bottle them separately from the rest of the
Cab. The cask they used from Heitz
Vineyard had Cask 23 marked on it, and that was the origin of the name. Now each year they take the very best grapes
from FAY Vineyard and S.L.V. Vineyard and make the CASK 23. (But some years, such as in 2011, they make
no CASK 23.) Each lot was vinified and
aged separately in small French oak barrels for 21 months, using 90% new French
oak. The final blend in 2010 was 56.8% FAY and 43.2% S.L.V. The CASK 23 is one of the most famous wines
in Napa Valley
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars tasting room in wine caves |
I can't imagine any serious wine drinker visiting Napa
Valley
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars entry sign Note the spelling |
Note: "Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars" should not be
confused with "Stags’ Leap Winery" (apostrophe after the "s"
rather than before it and called Winery rather than Wine Cellars) where they
produce very nice Petite Sirahs. Also
note that this AVA (American Viticultural
Area) is spelled "Stags Leap" District with no apostrophe. If there is no apostrophe it is a reference
to the District. If the apostrophe is
before the s, then it is the historic Cabernet place. If the apostrophe is after the s, you will
find some very good Petite Sirah and other wines. I sometimes see the
District name misspelled with the addition of an apostrophe, however.
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars statue near front entry |
(707) 944-2020
Date of this review: March
11, 2014
Date of previous review: March
2, 2011
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars "Hands of Time" A small portion of the wall that has many hands of winemakers and others who have had major roles in the history of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Foucault pendulum |
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| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars fountain |
TJ - Many thanks for the very nice article! - Anna
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