Stag's Leap Wine Cellars KARIA Chardonnay 2019
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This is a graceful Chardonnay with aromas of citrus and subtle tropical fruit notes along with apricot, toasted almonds and orange blossom. Medium to full-bodied, the wine has a silky texture and refreshing and flavorful finish with a touch of minerality.
Try pairing this Chardonnay with grilled chicken with lemon aioli, grilled salmon with a cucumber, tomato and fresh dill salsa or roast chicken breast stuffed with spinach and feta cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Apple tart with some stone and toffee aromas, as well as some flint, following through to a medium-to full-bodied, tight and compact palate with some creaminess. Tight finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
This well-knit white is filled with a juicy basket of white peach, ruby grapefruit and lemon curd flavors. Pastry accents midpalate lead to the voluptuously spiced finish. Drink now through 2024. 26,400 cases made.
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Wine Enthusiast
Made in a full-bodied style, with a grip of oak laden in baking spice, this wine is complex and well structured. Peach and pear flavors add to the richness and enduring softness of the texture.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Chardonnay Karia sings of fresh pineapple, Bosc pears and spice cake, with hints of candied ginger, beeswax and cashews. Medium to full-bodied, intense and spicy in the mouth, it has an alluring satiny texture and a nutty finish.
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Wine
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."
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.