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Tasting Notes
The Leap is always a glorious representation of the distinctive personality of our estate vineyard and this 2020 vintage is no exception, with incredible dark ruby, violet-colored intensity, and saturation, leading to a robust nose with a bounty of red and dark berry fruit aromas. Notes of black cherry, blackberry, and dark plum easily come through alongside perfumed hints of delicate wild lavender. The palate has a plethora rich dark berry fruits with richness and vibrancy. A classical example of Stags Leap District Cabernet with exuberant bramble berry fruit flavors of ripe black cherry, black raspberry and plum, alongside perfumed notes of cola nut, root spice, forest floor and ground espresso on the finish. Big, rich and plush with multi-layered attractiveness, this Cabernet is full-bodied and elegant with depth of structure and firm, chewy tannins. Secondary notes of graphite, mocha and bittersweet dark chocolate follow through on the lengthy and savory mouthwatering finish. Incredibly pleasing upon release, while also demonstrating the opulence and grace of the estate, hallmarks of this wine, allowing for aging beautifully over time for the next ten to twenty years.Technical Information
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Appellation | Napa Valley |
| Blend | 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petite Sirah, 3% Malbec & 1% Merlot |
| Oak Treatment | 100% French oak barrels (65% new) for 19 months |
| Alcohol % | 14.6% |
Scores & Accolades
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94“Fragrant dried thyme and mulberry notes with red liquorice, toasted coconut and iron shavings. Full-bodied with a real purity of blackberry fruit and mixed-berry compote. A dusty tannin backbone and a long mineral finish underscore the satiny fruit profile.” – Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter
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93“Offers a mix of sagebrush, sweet bay leaf, incense and dried violet aromatics that drape prettily over a core of cassis and gently mulled plum fruit. After a caressing feel at the start, this picks up graphite-edged grip on the sneaky long finish. Best from 2024 through 2036. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.” – James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
Winemaking
The Leap is a barrel selection, a blend of the best Cabernet Sauvignon blocks, lots, and cooperages, in each vintage. Each lot undergoes a long, (almost month-long), maceration period which adds color, tannin, and complexity of flavors to the Cabernet Sauvignon. Additionally, each lot was held separately in French oak barrels (65% new) for 19 months before our winemakers hand selected the most expressive of them to blend just prior to bottling. Keeping each block separate allows close monitoring of each individual lot through aging, maximizing the depth and potential of the estate vineyards.Vintage
The 2020 season will be remembered for factors beyond the typical harvest season. It was a warm, dry winter and the rain and cooler weather didn’t arrive until the end of March. While the mild spring season was a great early start, summer brought very cool mornings and very warm days, but then harvest was interrupted by wildfires across California, which came as grapes started to be picked, and we were very fortunate that none of our vineyards were in the areas of the active fires. The white wine harvest started in mid to late August while the red wine harvest was smaller yielding and proved to be one of the most challenging in history, but our winemakers remained optimistic and very complimentary of the high quality achieved from this unprecedented vintage.Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon is synonymous with Napa Valley and has always been a mainstay in the winemaking program at Stags’ Leap Winery. The Leap is sourced from select Cabernet Sauvignon blocks within our Stags’ Leap Winery estate vineyard that are 30 years old, on average. This singular expanse of earth tucked up against the eastern palisades of Napa Valley features thin, rocky soils in its upper reaches, giving way to finer-grained loamy soils at its floor. The heat-reflecting palisades, with their towering rocky crags, provide consistent warmth over the estate and help balance the cooling breezes from the south. This pronounced micro-climate is remarkably well-suited to growing Cabernet Sauvignon grapes of distinction.