Founded in 1970, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars established their reputation early on in the 1976 Judgement of Paris when Winemaker Warren Winarski earned worldwide acclaim for his 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars SLV Cabernet Sauvignon which surpassed the First Growths from Bordeaux.

In 2023 Marchesi Antinori acqiured ownership of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. The history of winemaking in Italy within the Antinori family dates back to 1385, extending over six centuries and through 26 generations. Grape grower Nathan Fay planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon in the Stag’s Leap District of Napa Valley in 1961. In 1986, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars purchased grapes from Fay vineyard, designating it as a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

This wine is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc, aged for 20 months in 100% New French Oak. The acquisition of this vineyard by the Antinori family seems to have revived the iconic personality of this vineyard. The wine speaks tenderly to you once it is opened, revealing its charismatic identity. The glistening garnet color flaunts a floral bouquet of purple lilac with a whisper of lavender. This is an exquisitely balanced and alluring wine detailed with bursts of creme de cassis, reddish Mirabelle plums, sweet toasted oak and a lavish coating of milk chocolate. It has a velvety structure with silky, ultra fine tannins that carry you into a sumptuous finish.

By W Peter Hoyne