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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

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   

2000 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

1.5ltr

WS  95   
RP  93   
ST  90   

2001 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

RP  100   
WS  95   
ST  95+    

2001 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

1.5ltr

Light capsule condition issue; light signs of past seepage

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

Light 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   

2005 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

1.5ltr

Light capsule condition issue; light signs of past seepage

RP  97   
ST  94-97   
WS  92   

2009 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

6.0ltr

Light capsule condition issue; signs of past seepage; etched bottle

WA  98   
WE  97   
WS  96   
ST  94-96   

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   

2009 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

1-bottle Lot, Wood Case, 6.0ltr

Etched bottle; Light case condition issue

WA  98   
WE  97   
WS  96   
ST  94-96   

2016 Futo 5500 SLD

1.5ltr

VN  99   
WA  98   
JD  98   

2012 Beau Vigne Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

3-bottle Lot

RP  96   

1991 Hartwell Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon

1.5ltr

Capsule condition issue; signs of past seepage; top shoulder fill; etched bottle; partial cork exposed

1993 Hartwell Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon

1.5ltr

Light capsule condition issue; signs of past seepage; top shoulder fill; etched bottle

1994 Hartwell Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon

1.5ltr

Light capsule condition issue; base neck fill; etched bottle

RP  90