Winemaker Notes
The 2023 Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon has complex aromas of dark currants, licorice, violets, graphite, and boysenberry. It is flavorful, vibrant, and offers rich flavors on the entrance
with a layered mouthfeel and persistent finish with dark cherry, cocoa, and a touch of hazelnut on the palate. It’s a rich, flavorful wine but balanced and bright with significant aging potential.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 70% Fay and 30% S.L.V., the 2023 Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon exceeds both of the individual bottlings. Yes, it's a selection of the top barrels, but the two also complement each other nicely: the elegance and finesse of Fay and the power and tannin of S.L.V. Christmas spice-like nuances add to the complexity of violets, sage and thyme, plus black cherries and earth. Most of all, what stands out in this medium- to full-bodied wine is the way it manages to be rich and expansive without being heavy, its seductive texture of fine suede and its long, refreshing finish.
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Vinous
The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23 is superb. Creamy, polished tannins immediately announce a Cask 23 that is all about sophistication. Dark blue/purplish fruit, new leather, lavender, spice, sage, menthol and dark chocolate caress the palate. The 2023 is seamless on the palate, with all the elements in the right place and fabulous balance to match.
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Wine Spectator
This is impressive without trying to be, offering a large-scale core of cassis, plum reduction and boysenberry preserves inlaid with mesquite, alder, bay leaf and violet. Walnut husk and dried violet hints percolate through the finish, which shows a long, deeply buried graphite spine. Reserved and poised, this drips distinction. Best from 2030 through 2050.
Considered one of the "first growths" of Napa Valley, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars produces renowned Cabernet Sauvignon from its historic Stags Leap District estate vineyards. Learn about Stags Leap history and estate-grown wines.
History of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was founded in 1970 with the purchase of a 40 acre property in the now famed Stag’s Leap District AVA in Napa Valley. The winery brought international recognition to California winemaking and the Napa Valley region when their 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon won the 1976 Paris Tasting, also known as the "Judgement of Paris."
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Estate-Grown Cabernet Sauvignon
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' three estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignons - CASK 23, S.L.V. and Fay - are among the most highly regarded and collected Cabernet Sauvignons worldwide. The Cabernet wines are fashioned to express richness balanced by elegant restraint, an approach often described as "an iron fist in a velvet glove."
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.