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Tasting Notes
Tasting Note
Our 2016 Audentia showcases the distinctive personality of our estate vineyard, crafting a wine of immense concentration, power and complexity. Intense, multilayered, rich and indulgent, with incredible depth of color and balance. On the nose and palate there are lush dark berry flavors. Blackberry and blueberry compote, black cherry and strawberry liquor notes are present alongside floral notes of violet, hibiscus leaf, star anise, clove, ginger and candied orange peel, giving the perception of mulled wine spice – an influence from the well-integrated subtle oak ageing. The wine is dark, rich, round and mouth-pleasing with well-integrated enveloping fine-grained tannins leading to a dark chocolate, cocoa savory finish with mouthwatering acidity and a lifted fresh subtle mint element. This wine is unctuous, showcasing the iconic power and longevity that have become synonymous with Stags’ Leap estate wines. Drinking beautifully now and will continue to age for the next 25+ years, if you can keep your hands off it.
Technical Information
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2016 |
| Appellation | Stags Leap District |
| Blend | 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petite Sirah, 9% Petit Verdot |
| Oak Treatment | 100% French oak (50% new) for 15 months |
| Alcohol % | 14.1% |
| Enclosure Type | Cork |
| Case Production | 801 cases |
Scores & Accolades
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97
JamesSuckling.com
“This is like looking down a dark well. It takes you down with fantastically vertical tannins. Superb fruit and balance. Currants, dark berries and hints of chocolate and hazelnuts. Full and classic in nature. Better in 2022, but already so beautiful. Drink in 2022.” - James Suckling, February 2020
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95
Wine and Spirits
“After joining Stags’ Leap Winery in 2009, Christophe Paubert released Audentia, a new wine from the historic estate, in 2010. It grew out of his fascination with the old-vine petite sirah he was farming there, a variety that had been planted at the site in 1893, long before the winery was founded. The vines that contribute fruit to this blend come from block 9, where the vines are 36 years old. Paubert finds the petite sirah from this block is less about spice and more focused on blueberry and blackberry flavors. Though you might think of petite as rustic, here it combines with some petit verdot to fill cabernet’s dark-chocolate tannins with layers of earth tones and spice. Nathaniel Muñoz of LA’s Bar Avalon compared those tannins to terra cotta and broken brick. “I really want rustic Mexican food with this,” he said, pointing to the notes of charred peppers and smoky ancho chiles. And yet, it’s polished, lasting on fragrant complexity, with a tart cherry focus that rings clean and as clear as a bell.” - Joshua Greene, May 2020
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96+
Wine Advocate
"A blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petite Sirah and 9% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Audentia Estate rolls effortlessly out of the glass with notions of Black Forest cake, plum preserves and warm cassis plus suggestions of cigar box, Indian spices, menthol and fertile loam. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a finely knit frame of impeccably ripe tannins and seamless freshness supporting the intense black fruits, finishing long and spicy. 801 cases were made.” - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, August 13th, 2020
Winemaking
Winemaking Note
Grapes for the blend are hand-picked in the vineyard and hand-sorted at the winery and fermented in a combination of small, closed tanks and 500-liter neutral oak barrels. Additionally, the lots undergo a long, (almost month-long), maceration period which adds color, tannin and complexity of flavors to the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah.
Christophe Paubert - Winemaker
For Christophe Paubert, Winemaker and General Manager at Stags’ Leap Winery, the identity of a wine is found through the terroir. Christophe’s career has spanned the industry from sales to winemaking, and his impressive background includes positions at Chateau d’Yquem and Gruaud-Larose as well as projects in Chile, Spain and Washington State. But it was the terroir of Stags’ Leap that drew him to California.
Vintage
Vintage Note
The extended drought was beginning to cause real concern as the 2016 growing season kicked off, but some welcomed winter rain hinted at the relief to come. After a relatively dry January we enjoyed significant rainfall in February, along with mild temperatures. Bud break was early, but was slowed by heavy April showers. While still early by historical standards, picking began about a week later than 2015, right around Labor Day, and continued at a leisurely pace, allowing the grapes to reach full flavor maturity. A traditionally sized harvest followed the lighter showing of 2015, and the extended mild season helped to balance the acids and add complexity to the layers of flavors. Considered a perfect harvest and a winemaker’s dream vintage, conditions were perfect for producing Cabernet and Petite Sirah with beautiful fruit as well as tremendous concentration of flavors, highly saturated color, and layers of complexity.
Vineyard
Stags Leap AVA
Vineyard Note
The Petite Sirah was sourced exclusively from block 9, long known as one of the winery’s highest-performing blocks that delivers each year with deep blue and red fruit we liken to Cabernet Sauvignon, while the Petit Verdot, known for its color, flavor intensity and tannin profile, is also sourced from our estate vines. The combination of these varietals results in a blend that’s both powerful and concentrated, balanced and elegant. Special care was made in preserving purity of fruit and selecting Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot that would strengthen without overpowering the Cabernet Sauvignon.
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