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Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars
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The Place Beneath: The "Sweet Spot" of FAY
Over the more than three decades that we have been farming our estate vineyards, we’ve learned that small areas within particular blocks consistently produce grapes with unique qualities of flavor and texture. A case in point is FAY Block 8. In its center is an irregularly shaped "sweet spot" that yields fruit of unusual expressiveness, characterized by voluptuous softness as well as concentration. Over the years this "sweet spot" has been a key component of CASK 23.
The Oak and the Vine
The association of wood and wine goes back a very long time. Herodotus recorded the use of wooden barrels as wine containers as early as seventh centuries B.C., and for most of wine’s history, barrels were the containers of choice for storage and transportation. Over time, winemakers began to also value barrels’ ability to change the taste of the wine inside. Oak barrels came to be favored for imbuing wine with tastes ranging from vanilla, spice, coffee, and caramel to cedar, smoke, and leather.
Size Matters
One reason people love large-format wine bottles is that they look so impressive on the table or displayed in the cellar. But good looks are merely a happy side effect of these super-sized wines’ real advantage: they allow the wines inside to age more slowly.
A Shared Passion For Winemaking: Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Alumni Reunion
Warren Winiarski often says that a wine's quality depends on the three G's: the Ground, the Grapes, and the Guy or Gal who makes them into wine. Thirty of the guys and gals who have worked at Stag's LeapWine Cellars during the past 30 years came together on February 10 for a reunion celebrating the many talented people who have contributed to our winery's history over the years.
Community
“I just wanted to share with you how much a bottle of your wine meant to my family today. About 18 years ago my late husband bought a bottle of 1990 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars "Cask 23" Cabernet Sauvignon. It was signed "to Danny on your 21st birthday." Well today was my sons 21st birthday so we opened, drank, and enjoyed that bottle of wine. It was so special that my son could enjoy a gift from his father even though he is no longer with us. So thank you for producing an amazing bottle of wine that can be enjoyed 21 years later.”
“I visited your winery last year on a trip with friends to Napa Valley and found it very enjoyable. Yesterday a bunch of us did a mini re-enactment of the Paris 1976 wine tasting, with four chardonnays and two cabs. In a blind tasting, we put the '07 Stag's Leap SLV cab up against the French Chateau Montrose (which had scored a 122 vs. Stag's Leap's 127.5 In 1976). The crowd cheered when the Stag's Leap '07 was pulled out of the bag as the winner, having scored 213 points to Montrose's 175. Every person at the tasting picked yours as the better wine. Just wanted you to know that 35 years later you're still beating the French in blind wine tastings!”
Auctions
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Auction Lot Sold for $86,100 At the 19th Annual High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction
- March 30, 2011
The Stag's Leap Wine Cellars live auction lot (Lot 38) sold for an incredible $130,000 at Auction Napa Valley
- Napa Valley, CA - June 3, 2011
Sun Valley Center Wine Auction
- Sun Valley, ID - July 21, 2011