Stags Leap

We arrived in Stags Leap a bit late today because one of our loyal readers caused me to explore a few too many appellations last night. Shame on that reader. But, our trip was short, just a few miles south on Silverado Trail.

The Stags Leap American Viticultural Area (AVA) is small, just 3 miles by 1 mile. It's unique in that it was granted AVA status based on its distinctive soils. The soils are a mix of volcanic residue from the Vaca Mountains and loam and clay from the nearby Napa River. Sitting particularly low in elevation, Stags Leap is often thought of as a valley with the larger Napa Valley.

While it did not become an AVA until 1989, the Stags Leap District first rose to prominence in 1976 when at the Judgment of Paris, the 1973 Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon was judged the best of the red wines by a panel of European experts despite being regardsd as the best by only one judge.

While grapes were planted in Stags Leap as far back as the 1870s, curiously, the Cabernet for which the District is now known, was not planted there until 1961 by Nathan Fay. Today, that vineyard is owned by Stags Leap Wine Cellars and it is the grapes from that vineyard that are used to make their Fay bottling.

The climate in the area is warm in the days with predominatly west and southwest exposure for the grapes, but nights are much cooler showing the effects of the breezes from San Pablo Bay. As with many of the other Napa AVAs we have visited, these diurnal variations tend to result in wines with excellent acidity giving a level of balance and structure. Even in the 30th anniversary tasting and rehash of the Judgment of Paris, the Stags Leap Cabernet had help up well enough to finish in 2nd place not far out of 1st, a testament to the aging potential of these wines.

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