If you love great Cabernet Sauvignon, you have to visit Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. I first visited Stag's Leap Wine Cellars around 1974, a few years before they made such a sensation in Paris. It is a well-known Napa Valley premium vineyard that produces outstanding cabs and needs little in the way of introductions or recommendations.
They have two different tastings, one at $15 and the Estate
Collection at $30. Needless to say, we opted for the later. Staffs were
very friendly and professional and the wines were exceptional. The 2008
Arcadia Chardonnay at $50 eschews excessive oak. No butterball here,
thank goodness. It is more like a French Chablis with green apple and some
minerality. The 2007 FAY Cabernet
Sauvignon at $95 is a very drinkable Cab that could certainly be put away.
The 2007 SLV Cabernet Sauvignon
(($125) is a bigger cab, more in the Napa Valley style, with some minerality
and soft tannins that is great now but should improve with age. The 2007 CASK23 Cabernet Sauvignon ($195)
is their flagship cab and deservedly so. It combines the best of the FAY
and SLV to provide a wine that has both elegance and full of character, with a
violet like aroma and a perfect balance between fruit, alcohol and tannin.
This is the type of Cabernet that
gives Napa Valley such a great reputation and we loved all three of them.
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars should not be confused with Stags’
(apostrophe after the s) Leap Winery where they make wonderful Petite Sirahs.
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
5766 Silverado Trl
5766 Silverado Trl
Napa, CA
94558
(707) 944-2020
(707) 944-2020
(707) 944-2020
Visited 3/2/2011
TJ, nice to know that the Cask23 gets such a high approval from you, as my son bought this one last year for me, to celebrate my birthday, but it's in the Euro-cave waiting for that important event.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Dennis
Hi Dennis, Thanks for your comment. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars has been making great cabs for many years. I would love to have had more extended tastes or bottle of their wines to slowly appreciate. Cask23 was awesome but will age really well. Best wishes, TJ
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