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2004 Tasting Notes

Baldacci Family Vineyards

2004 Baldacci Black Label Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

The Black Label Estate Baldacci Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is produced exclusively from the seventeen-acre Baldacci Family Vineyards Stags Leap District Vineyard. The appearance is rich with deep red ruby hues and a vibrant garnet ring. Big, bold aromas loaded with ripe fruit, vanilla bean, fig, and clean dirt introduce the wine and give the essence of the Stags Leap terroir. This wine has a full, rich entry, great body, overflowing with intense, mouth watering ripe black fruit, dark chocolate mocha, and dried currants. The finish is lingering with refined tannins and balanced acid.

Chimney Rock Winery

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

The 2004 Chimney Rock Winery's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a reflection of the vintage and its heralded appellation, Stags Leap. This fairly early warm harvest produced a wine which is bewitching in its depth of aroma and the silkiness and breadth of its weight. Crafted in extremely limited quantities, the 2004 vintage of the Chimney Rock Reserve Cabernet is only available directly through the winery and at select events. The wine borrows the 1er Cru Classe technique of aging in 100 percent new French oak. While irresistible now, it will also develop beautifully well into the next decade.

Cliff Lede Vineyards

2004 Poetry

Cliff Lede Vineyards' fruit was sourced from the steep hillside terraces of its Poetry Vineyard at the northeastern boundary of the Stags Leap District. Exceptional farming practices and low yields, just one ton to the acre average, combine to ensure the vineyard's potential is delivered to the winery. Hand-harvested, the grapes were destemmed and subjected to a rigorous berry-by-berry hand sorting. The chosen fruit was then placed into small stainless steel tanks for a two to five day pre-fermentation cold soak. A two-week fermentation with twice-daily pumpovers gently extracted flavor and color from the cap. The wine underwent extended maceration to further integrate the tannins and develop texture. After a gentle pressing, the wine was drained into French oak barrels (89% new) to complete malolactic fermentation and age in the barrel for 24 months. 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. 680 cases produced.

Clos Du Val

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

Clos Du Val's flagship estate wine, the 2004 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon is deep purple-black in color and greets the nose with vibrant aromas of ripe black fruit balanced by a hint of dried herbs and toasty oak. The wine has a rich, powerful entry, filling the mouth with intense black fruit and spice. With its velvety-smooth tannins, this Cabernet illustrates Stags Leap District terroir. The long, lingering finish is characteristic of Clos Du Val's winemaking style. Enjoy now or cellar for at least 10-15 years.

Malk Family Vineyards (Griffin Vineyards)

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2004 Griffin Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is an excellent example of both the vineyard and the District. Ripe aromas of cassis extract, black cherry and hints of spice show the classic nose of this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Underlying notes of vanilla and cedar also carry through to the palate; while a full body and rich tannins allow the wine to be appreciated now, it should age nicely for years to come.

Hartwell Vineyards

2004 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

"Petit Verdot was so complex and powerful in 2004 that we made the decision to add it to the Cabernet Sauvignon blend, even though all previous vintages had been 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. While this is a change, it stays true to our mission: to craft the best wines possible that reflect the greatness of this estate. "2004 Hartwell Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is rich, dark and complex, with soft tannins and mouth-filling flavor. Blueberry, blackberry, and creme de cassis dominate the aromas and flavors, giving way to coffee and crushed stones."

Ilsley Vineyards

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2004 vintage at Ilsley Vineyards was filled with anticipation. Exciting new hillside vineyard blocks were reaching maturity that would add complexity to our estate Cabernet Sauvignon. We harvested and fermented seven separate unique blocks of Cabernet, Malbec, Petite Verdot and Merlot from the vineyard our grandfather founded more than fifty years ago. While the core of this wine still comes from the twenty year old vines our father planted, the new vineyards with varying sun exposures and clones allow our wine maker to craft a wine from the best grapes our vineyard produces. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon has the trademark Stags Leap tannin and structure. The color is a dark ruby red with aromas of black cherry, blackberry, currant, toasty oak and vanilla. This wine is concentrated and dense without being heavy or cloying. It's perfectly balanced with a long, lush finish felt throughout the entire mouth. Enjoy this wine now or cellar it another 20 years.

Pine Ridge Winery

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

Pine Ridge estate vineyards in the Stags Leap District are densely planted and trained to produce lower yields with a greater concentration of flavors. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant Bordeaux style blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec. The grapes were hand-harvested in early September, pumped over traditionally and macerated on the skins for 36-40 days. Following an aging period of 15-17 months in chateau-style French oak barrels, the wine was bottled without fining or filtration. Ripe and concentrated on the nose, the 2004 vintage offers exquisite aromas of currant, blackberry, black cherry and raspberry, laden with dark chocolate, clove and tobacco. This medium to full-bodied Cabernet boasts a soft, supple texture of ripe cherry and blackberry, with an extended finish highlighted by black cherry, tobacco and brown cinnamon. This wine may be enjoyed now or cellared for 10 years or more.

Regusci Winery

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

The Regusci Winery's 290 acre ranch is situated just below the eastern palisades of the renowned Stags Leap District. The Ranch has been farmed by three generations and the Regusci Estate wines represent the passion and tradition the Regusci family. Jim and Diana Regusci continue to focuses on exceptional quality & limited production wines. The 2004 Regusci Estate Cabernet Sauvignon continues the pursuit of the Regusci Winery; the vintage is rich and expressive with big bold fruit that is anticipated from the Stags Leap District; the wine is deep ruby in color with complex aromas of dark, ripe blackberry fruit, with subtle notes of cocoa and toasty vanilla oak. Concentrated and balanced flavors of dark berry fruit and red currents saturate the palate, following with a silky, rich and full bodied finish. With proper cellaring this wine will continue to evolve over the next ten to fifteen years.

Robert Sinskey Vineyards

2004 Robert Sinskey Vineyards SLD Cabernet Sauvignon

"If you work on the quality of your ingredients, heavy-handed technique is unnecessary," states RSV winemaker Jeff Virnig. The "ingredients" Jeff refers to come from RSV's four and one-half acre, organically farmed, hillside Estate Vineyard that produces just two tons per acre. "We never need to worry about wine color and flavor extraction because the fruit is nutritionally balanced with fully developed color. This gives us the option to employ gentle fermentation techniques." RSV's attention to detail created a wine that exhibits classic Stags Leap District elegance. The 2004 SLD Cabernet Sauvignon's dark opalescent ruby color provides the eye candy, while aromas of sweet herb-laced black currant and violet draw you in. The wine is so vibrant on the palate that it takes a moment to notice the "high-thread-count" mouth-feel that gives the flavors a luxurious texture to play on. This wine walks a thin line between power and elegance, marrying intensely pure cabernet fruit and ample structure with the more delicate nuances of the grape. It's attractive now but is one to watch in the cellar.

Shafer Vineyards

2004 One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon

"These are aromas and flavors that speak of home - pure Stags Leap District. The first impressions in the glass are fragrant aromas of black, chewy fruit, cedar, chocolate, and dried herbs, followed by rich, juicy flavors of blackberry, smoke, dark chocolate, herbs, and tobacco, with a nice long finish. The tannins are ripe and supple, bringing back memories of the 1992 vintage."

Silverado Vineyards

2004 SOLO

On land that has supported vines since the 1880s, our vineyard was the third property planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in what became the Stag's Leap District, and fruit from this property helped establish the area's reputation in the 1970s. 2004 SOLO is produced entirely from grapes grown in this vineyard, which stretches across the rocky terraces and gentle slopes between the Silverado Trail and the Napa River. It displays all the ripe and complex fruit, supple texture, and solid structure that helped define the District, the most distinctive Cabernet-growing region in the Napa Valley.

Stags' Leap Winery

2004 "The Leap" Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon

Made from grapes grown on the fillet of our property, the crumbled volcanics of the slope just below the Manor House, this wine shows classic Stags Leap character. 2004 was a terrific vintage, warm, dry, long, lots of hang time, and the resulting wine shows endless layers of black and red fruit, toasted vanilla, tobacco, violets, and dried thyme, over a background of charred meat, coffee and plums. Quintessentially cabernet in structure, this full-bodied wine is complex, balanced, has a soft middle, firm tannins, and a long chocolaty finish.

Steltzner Vineyards

2004 Reserve Barrel Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Established in 1965, our estate vineyards stretch along the eastern side of the Silverado Trail rising to the base of the Stags Leap Palisades. Each year we produce a small amount of Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from our estate vineyards, blending the best barrels from our cellar. A nice summer gave way to a heat spike in late august, combined with a lighter crop lead to an earlier than usual Cabernet Sauvignon harvest. We were still able to harvest the fruit at what we considered to be the optimal maturity for each vineyard. The lots were kept separate through the entire fermentation and barrel aging process. Only native yeasts were used for the fermentations and all the wines were aged in French oak. For the final blend individual barrels were tasted and selected from each lot resulting in a true barrel select wine. 60% of the barrels selected were new French oak. A deep red hue with a rich ruby edge, the wine exhibits dark aromas of nutmeg, currants and black cherry mixed with smoky oak and vanilla. Dark fruit flavors of black cherry, plums and currants permeate the well balanced layers of tannins and smoky oak, all tinged with a hint of vanilla. The finish is long and supple with ample fine grained tannins and a nice acidity. 500 cases produced

Taylor Family Vineyards

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

Taylor Family Vineyards focuses on two all-important basics: family and quality. Together as a family, the Taylor's planted a 10-acre vineyard in the Stags Leap District's characteristic volcanic soil, literally, on their hands and knees in 1980. After years of selling grapes to their neighbors, in 2002 the family decided to keep the fruits of their labor and craft them into wines that would proudly represent the quality's they cherish. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon opens up with dark cherry, tobacco, cassis, blackberry and a hint of violet. The soft, mouth-filling tannins fill the palate and finish long after the wine is a sweet memory.

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