Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is exuberant and expressive, with a bounty of wild bramble berry fruits alongside lifted floral notes of lavender and violet. There are also warmer spiced notes of Crème brûlée, allspice and black pepper, a nod from the seamless oak integration. On the palate, juicy cassis, black currant and blackberry are supported by hints of delicate red rose, brown butter and bittersweet chocolate, giving this Cabernet a rich depth and complexity. Cocoa-powdery tannins provide a pleasurable mouthcoating texture, all enfolding into a lengthy mouthwatering finish. Very approachable and pleasing upon release, this wine is sure to impress and pair well alongside many culinary dishes.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A very pretty cabernet with very fine tannins that are polished and fresh. Beautiful currant, chocolate and walnut character. Medium to full body and a long, caressing finish. Builds beautifully at the end. So delicious now, but will develop nicely in bottle. Real 2018 character. Top vintage. Try after 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon 125th Anniversary is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 4% Malbec, 2% Tannat and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it skips out of the glass with bright, cheery blackberries, boysenberries and cassis scents, plus hints of wild sage, underbrush and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, it has a firm and grainy texture with lovely freshness and an earthy finish.
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Wine Spectator
This is reserved in personality but there's a solid core of cassis and warmed plum sauce flavors laced with gentle alder and mineral notes through the finish.
A fashionable country resort in the mid-twentieth century, popular with Hollywood due to its 1892 stone Manor House and historic gardens, legends of bootleggers and gangsters, ghosts and gypsies, Stags' Leap has been home to three major family groups up through the modern revitalization of the winery that began in the 1970s.
Stags Leap Manor, as it was called in the 1920s, was known as one of the prominent country retreats in the Napa Valley at a time when resort and spa business was big. In addition to lodging and dining, amenities included lawn tennis, swimming, horseback riding, children's activities, golf, music, cards, a library, and Napa Valley wines and liquors (prior to and after Prohibition).
An intimate valley within the greater Napa Valley, Stags Leap is a place of natural beauty, storied buildings and gardens, a lively history, and a reputation for elegant wines showing finesse and intensity.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.