Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/552044
32 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 { cellar view } FAY Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1990 FAY Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Lush, mature nose; silky rich toasty and ripe with bright juicy fruit; smooth, tangy, complex and totally in balance; some earth; red berry and delicious! 96 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 2002 FAY Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Lush, rich nose; rich juicy and showy, blackberry and ripe berries and lovely texture; long and generous; coffee; dense, elegant, and long; balanced and classic. 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. 95 current vintage Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 2012 FAY Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley ($120) Ripe, deep, vanilla-inflected nose; bright, juicy, tangy and showing velvety texture; rich with black raspberry, plum and spice; long, balanced and supple. 96 S.L.V. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1996 S.L.V. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Earthy, mature nose; juicy, minerally, silk, and mature perfumey, toast, cocoa and spice, long and balanced. 99.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 0.4% Petit Verdot. 94 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 2008 S.L.V. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Very dark; mineral and spice; ripe lush and tannic; juicy, rich and tangy, long and firm-structured. 94 current vintage Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 2012 S.L.V. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley ($120) Dark and showing a lush, intense nose; smooth and rich with vanilla and spice, plus notes of chocolate; great structure, juicy, balanced and dense; less generous than the Fay but built for long aging. 94 CASK 23 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1979 CASK 23 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Earth, leather, old prayer books; lovely texture, juicy, smooth, elegant and strong cedar, spice; lovely balance and length. 3% Merlot. 95 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1997 Estate CASK 23 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Dense and ripe nose; chocolate, spice powerful but elegant; tangy, dense and juicy; long and toasty, balanced; lots of sediment. 5% Merlot. 95 current vintage Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 2012 Estate CASK 23 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley ($225) Ripe, rich and vanilla nose; dark and lush with vanilla and rich plum and berry fruit; complex and generous; deep, smooth, intense and long with great aging potential. 98 NEARLY 40 YEARS AFTER THE "JUDGEMENT OF PARIS," STAG'S LEAP WINE CELLARS IS STILL A CLASSIC by Anthony Dias Blue Cabernets for the Decades Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was founded on the east side of the Napa Valley by Warren Winiarski, an academic from Chicago who had become an avid home winemaker. Following his dream, Winiarski moved his family to Napa Valley and took jobs at vari - ous wineries, including the newly minted Rober t Mondavi Winery. In 1970 he bought an orchard adjacent to the vineyard owned by Nathan Fay. He planted it to Cabernet Sauvignon and some Merlot. In May of 1976 this obscure, young winery was catapulted into world fame when the 1973 Cabernet from this 44-acre plot—the S.L.V. vineyard—came in first in the now infamous "Judgement of Paris" blind tasting held in the French capital and organized by Steven Spurrier. The wine, only the winery's second vintage, bested some of the most celebrated of French wines, including two First Growths. In the great 1974 vintage, at the sug - gestion of legendary consultant André Tchelistcheff, one exceptional barrel— number 23—was bottled separately. Over the years the "Cask 23" wine became a blend of the best lots from S.L.V. and from Fay, which was purchased by Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in 1986. In 2007, at age 79, Warren Winiarski decided to retire and sold Stag's Leap to Washington State's Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Marchesi Antinori Srl of Italy for a reported $185 million. Not an apprecia - tion to be sneered at; he had bought the S.L.V. vineyard, 27 years earlier, for $200,000. The FAY Cabernet and the S.L.V. are still bottled and released separately and the Cask 23 is, as always, a blend of the best barrels from both vineyards. All three of these wines age gracefully as this tasting clearly demonstrated. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' celebrated FAY Vineyard in Napa Valley.