Winemaker Notes
Enjoy this wine with grilled tri-tip, braised short ribs, or pasta with wild mushrooms and prosciutto.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Few oenophiles would ever turn down an opportunity to taste any wine from the iconic Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. Founded in 1972, this top producer has made some of the world's most memorable wines. Brought to fame on May 24, 1976, when the winery's 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon took honors in a blind tasting against some of Bordeaux's finest (including a couple of first growths), the winery's fame has continue to grow. The 2013 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Artemis ranks as one of my favorite Cabernet Sauvignons of the vintage. Made from a superior year and by a new winemaker, I waited with great anticipation as the wine's release got closer. The wine exceeded all expectations. Bright and pure with red currants and savory earth, this wine exhibits excellent purity. I tasted the winery's first vintage over 40 years ago and happily report that all is good. Congrats to new winemaker Marcus Notaro. He was fortunate to start his Stag's Leap Wine Cellars tenure with one of Napa Valley's top vintages. Incidentally, Artemis was named after the Greek goddess of the hunt. While Notaro's mission is to find the best fruit for Artemis, we will not have to worry he has already proven himself. This wine is drinking well now and will improve over the next half-dozen years. (Tasted: February 19, 2016, Napa, CA)
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.
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.