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Stags Leap District

Stags Leap District AVA in southern Napa Valley has a storied history. It is home to Stag’s Leap Cellars, whose 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon won the famous Judgment of Paris blind tasting that included several of Bordeaux’s most exalted First Growths. Vineyards were started in area in the late 19th century, but the district’s rise in prestige started in the late 1960s when Nathan Fay planted Cabernet Sauvignon. Fay later sold his estate to Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag’s Leap Cellars. The district was given its own AVA designation in 1989, and today there are 1,400 vineyard acres. The AVA is especially notable because it was the first in the U.S. to be granted AVA status based on terroir. Its distinctive soils is a mix of volcanic soils, river sediment and loamy clay-like soil. Because the soils don’t retain water well, vineyards in Stag’s Leap tend to grow fruit with great intensity and flavor. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for 95% of the grapes planted in Stags Leap.

1980 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Light capsule condition issue; light signs of past seepage; very top shoulder fill; light label condition issue

1980 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Light capsule condition issue; top shoulder fill; light label condition issue

2000 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

2002 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

RP  95   
WS  91   

2002 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Lightly depressed cork

RP  95   
WS  91   

1994 Shafer Vineyards Firebreak

Label condition issue

2001 Shafer Vineyards Firebreak

1992 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Lightly depressed cork

RP  95   
WS  93   
JR  18   

1997 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

1.5ltr

Light capsule condition issue; signs of past seepage; light label condition issue

RP  99   
WE  96   
ST  95   
WS  91   

1998 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

RP  92   
WS  92   
ST  90+    

2001 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Lightly depressed cork

RP  100   
WS  95   
ST  95+    

2001 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Light capsule condition issue; light label condition issue

RP  100   
WS  95   
ST  95+    

2001 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Elevated cork; heavy label condition issue

RP  100   
WS  95   
ST  95+    

2001 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Heavily elevated cork; light label condition issue

RP  100   
WS  95   
ST  95+    

2001 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Lightly elevated cork

RP  100   
WS  95   
ST  95+    

2001 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Lightly depressed cork; signs of past seepage; light label condition issue

RP  100   
WS  95   
ST  95+    

2001 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

1.5ltr

Light capsule condition issue; lightly elevated cork; signs of past seepage; light label condition issue

RP  100   
WS  95   
ST  95+    

2003 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Label condition issue

RP  100   
WE  96   
WS  93   
ST  93   

2004 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

WE  100   
RP  99   
WS  94   
ST  91-94   

2004 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Lightly depressed cork; light label condition issue

WE  100   
RP  99   
WS  94   
ST  91-94   

2004 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

WE  100   
RP  99   
WS  94   
ST  91-94   

2016 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

WA  100   
VN  100   
JD  100   
WS  95   

2018 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

JD  100   
JS  99   
WA  98+    
VN  98   
WS  95   
JR  16.5   

2012 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

6-bottle Lot, Wood Case

RP  100   
JS  98   
WS  96   
VN  96   
JR  15   

2015 Realm Moonracer

Lightly elevated cork

JD  97   
WA  96