Stags' Leap Winery Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve was aged for approximately 24 months in small French oak barrels, approximately 50% new. Brittan chose barrels from four coopers to add complexity and layers of flavor to the wine. "Oak brings structure and concentration," says Brittan, and a softening of tannins. This wine is big on fruit, rich and long in the mouth. It carries aromas of strawberries and raspberries, with notes of sun-dried tomatoes, plums and brambles. "To me, the wine is powerful in its subtlety…an excellent expression of the terroir typical of the Stags' Leap Winery estate."