Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Steve and his father dreamt of building a winery together and their vision became reality when he and his wife Suzie traded Steve's dental practice for the life of wine growers in 1994. The property was a 100-year old chicken ranch that needed lots of love but was full of potential. It took them over a year to clean up and begin renovations. Steve acted as general contractor, and he built everything from the fences to the tasting room.
The winery is Tuscan style, one of Steve's father's favorite winegrowing regions, and it is surrounded by 10 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, planted in 1996. They now create seven wines, including a Chardonnay, two Pinot Noirs (from the Russian River Valley and Los Carneros), a Merlot, the Estate Cabernet, a Reserve Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon and a red wine blend appropriately called "Persistence".
Legend has it that quick and nimble stags would escape the indigenous hunters of southern Napa Valley through the landmark palisades that sit just northeast of the current city of Napa. As a result, the area was given the name, Stags Leap. While its grape-growing history dates back to the mid-1800s, winemaking didn’t really take off until the mid-1970s after a small but pivotal blind tasting called the Judgement of Paris.
When a 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon won first place against its high-profile Bordeaux contenders, like Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Haut-Brion, international attention to the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley escalated rapidly.
The vineyards in this one-of-a-kind wine growing region receive hot afternoon air reflecting off of its eastern palisade formation. In combination with the cool evening breezes from the San Pablo Bay just south, this becomes an optimal environment for grape growing. While many varieties could thrive here, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate with virtually no others, save for a spot or two of Syrah.
Stags Leap soils—eroded volcanic and old river sediments—encourage well established root systems and result in complex, terroir-driven wines. Stags Leap District reds have a distinct sour cherry and black berry character with baking spice and dried earth aromas, and supple tannins.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.