Winemaker Notes
The power of Syrah has lured Brittan to craft Rhone varieties with a distinctive Napa Valley style. Our Stags' Leap Syrah is an elegant wine with a strong sense of place, says Brittan. Stags' Leap Syrah grapes sourced from the estate offer jammy, berry notes, while clusters from Brittan's personal vineyard near Napa contribute to the mineral, pepper and smoke components. The 2001 vintage expresses a classically earthy profile punctuated with red fruit and a hint of pepper spice, adds Brittan.
The luxuriant 2001 Syrah welcomes you with ripe blackberry aromas and flavors burnished with raspberry and black cherry. Look for a touch of mint hidden among leather and tobacco. Brittan chose to protect the fruit's integrity by aging the wine in mostly used French oak barrels for 14 months-keeping the wood nuances integrated and balanced. A touch of Petite Syrah was added for complexity, and a solid structure of round tannins supports the long finish of this full-bodied wine.
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.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.