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Stags Leap District Winegrowers Association

2018 Tasting Notes

Baldacci Family Vineyards

2018 Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Michael Baldacci Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 24 months in 80% new French oak Tasting Profile: Explosive dark berry fruit that grabs attention. The rich front end of the wine carries through to a long, complex finish. We have twelve distinct vineyard blocks including a rare south-eastern facing slope on a volcanic knoll. This wine has dimension and ultimately, it is this layered complexity with multiple facets that tie the entire vineyard together into one unified expression of Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Chimney Rock Winery

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, Ganymede Vineyard

Winemaker: Elizabeth Vianna Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 18 months in 100% new French oak Tasting Profile: The classic 2018 vintage gifted our Ganymede Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon with heady aromas of black currant, mocha, tar and enticing hints of mint, clove and violets. The palate ensues with an opulent richness, a powerfully viscous mid-palate finishing off with silky tannins and bright acidity. This exquisite wine delivers the essence of Stags Leap District's full potential — that perfect balance of power and finesse.
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Cliff Lede Vineyards

2018 Magic Nights Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Christopher Tynan Blend: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% MerlotBarrel Age and Type: 21 months in 80% new French oak Tasting Profile: As dark as midnight, this wine delights the taster with deep rich cassis, candied violets, lilacs, blackberry, warm summer mulberries, and melted black licorice possessing a weighty, oily texture reminiscent of melted chocolate, grilled steak drippings, iron, fig, and medjool dates. The tannins are satin smooth with the elegance and energy of the vintage taking center stage on the finish.
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Clos du Val

2018 Hirondelle Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Carmel Greenberg Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 21 months in 100% new oak (90% French, 10% American) Tasting Profile: This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was grown from the four best blocks of our Hirondelle Estate Vineyard. Rich, voluptuous flavors of blackberry, dark chocolate, cedar and mint are intertwined with silky tannins and a long, smooth finish.
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Ilsley Vineyards

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Heather Pyle Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 18 months in 100% French oak Tasting Profile: Complex yet approachable, this vintage excites the nose with black raspberry, white chocolate, candied cherries, and dusty minerality while more developed flavors of pluot, blackberry, turned earth, dulce de leche, milk chocolate, and graham delight the palate. Youthful tannins revel in a sustained finish, making this an excellent cellar addition. Enjoy with chateaubriand, venison, or grilled portabellos heavy on the butter.
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Lindstrom Wines

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Celia Welch Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 20 months in 50% new French oak Tasting Profile: This wine shows bright, fresh cherry and blackberry aromas, a slight hint of bay leaf and black tea, loads of mocha, hints of caramel, vanilla, and baking spices. On the palate, the wine starts out full and soft and flows with a sense of fresh, bright berry fruit and the texture of satin, then the finish lingers with the dark, ripe juicy berry notes again. It expands from there with a hint of toasted oak providing texture, weight and flavor.
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Malk Family Vineyards

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Robbie Meyer Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 18 months in 70% new French oak Tasting Profile: Aromatically, we experience forward dark fruit of blackberry, ripe currant, cedar spice, and chocolate. The mouthfeel has remarkable weight and depth while keeping the tannins very much in check and provide a beautiful framework for the entire wine. Enjoy this wine in its youth, but you will be rewarded with time in the bottle.
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Pine Ridge Vineyards

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Josh Widaman Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 27 months in 100% new French oak Tasting Profile: The wine's deep purple color (think: "Smoke on the Water") presents a dark, concentrated rendition of this mainstay. Redolent with blue and black fruits, the aromatics are metered by notes of cinnamon, white pepper and cola. With a bright vibrancy that belies its power, notes of chocolate covered blueberry meld with those of Earl Grey and bay leaf. The velvety smoothness of the tannins brings a refined element to the finish.
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Quixote Winery

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Robert Smith Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 20 months in 50% new French oak Tasting Profile: Aromatically rich with copious amounts of blackberry, black cherry and baking spices with underlying notes of menthol and bay laurel coupled with flavors of blueberry compote, pie crust and cedar. This Cabernet Sauvignon has a lush, velvety approach building to well-structured, fine-grained tannins on the mid-palate and a juicy finish, lasting millenia.
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Regusci Winery

2018 'The Elders' Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Bill Nancarrow Blend: 100% CabernetBarrel Age and Type: 20 months in 100% French oak Tasting Profile: This edition of The Elders provides us with a myriad of audacious, interesting, and complex aromas on the nose—it opens with dark, concentrated notes of blackberry, vanilla bean, and baking spice. The palate offers an elegant blend of blackberry pie, red currant, and it is deliciously enlivened with notes of molasses. This wine needs no more accompaniment than a leather, wing-backed chair beside a toasty fire.
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Shafer Vineyards

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five

Winemaker: Elias Fernandez Blend: 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% MalbecBarrel Age and Type: 20 months in 100% new French oak (Allier & Tronçais) Tasting Profile: 2018 One Point Five is aromatically bright and overflowing with elegant, energetic flavors of red summer berries, black cherry, rose petal, and red and black plum, along with mocha, cinnamon, and spices. The seamless, silky tannins create a lush mouthfeel now and hold the promise for more riches to come with careful cellaring.
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Silverado Vineyards

2018 SOLO Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Jon Emmerich & Elena Franceschi Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Age and Type: 15 months in 43% new oak (85% French, 15% Hungarian) Tasting Profile: Elegant and focused with intense aromas and flavors of fresh raspberry, red and black cherries, dark cocoa, sambuca, and a hint of toasty vanilla. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and the signature Stags Leap District mineral notes that are well-knit with the fruit and oak, leading to a long and bright finish.
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Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

2018 FAY Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Marcus Notaro Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 20 months in 100% new French oak Tasting Profile: Established by pioneering grape grower Nathan Fay in 1961, FAY Vineyard was the first Cabernet Sauvignon in what's now the Stags Leap District. The 2018 FAY offers fragrant aromas of boysenberry, cherry pie, cassis, sweet spice and a touch of gardenia. The wine has a velvety mouthfeel with a well-balanced structure supported by lush polished tannins and flavors of blackberry and blueberry.
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Stags' Leap Winery

2018 The Leap Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Christophe Paubert Blend: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec and 5% Petit VerdotBarrel Age and Type: 20 months in 60% new French oak Tasting Profile: The Leap offers dark, alluring, layered intensity with notes of black berry fruit and a rich, mouth-enveloping texture. This wine is classic Stags Leap District Cabernet, offering aromas and flavors of black currant, cassis, dark raspberry and black cherry alongside delicate notes of cedar, allspice, graphite and espresso, backed up by savory notes of olive tapenade and chaparral herbs.
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Steltzner Vineyards

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Mike Smith Blend: 100% Cabernet SauvignonBarrel Age and Type: 22 months in 100% new French oak Tasting Profile: Deep dark color with inviting aromas of violet and red fruits. Classic Stags Leap District structure, silky suede tannins and a long finish. Dark cherry, blackberry with crushed slate in the mid-palate. Beautiful notes of cardamom and tobacco on the finish.
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Taylor Family Vineyards

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Winemaker: Gustavo Brambila Blend: 100% CabernetBarrel Age and Type: 30 months in 100% new French oak Tasting Profile: The 2018 Stags Leap Cabernet is rich and luxurious from start to finish. It opens up with aromatics of dark cherry and dark forest fruits, leaf tobacco, cassis, wet stone and hints of violet. The palate is full and concentrated with flavorful layers of ripe, rich and velvety tannins. The finish is long and memorable. Enjoy now or cellar well into 2030.
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