97 points James Suckling
This review highlights the wine’s structural elegance and aromatic complexity, describing a bouquet of cassis, cedar, and black olive, and calling it “a firm but refined, elegant wine that shows great balance, tension.”
96 points Decanter
This review emphasizes the wine’s opulent, concentrated character, noting bright violet and blackberry aromatics framed by “plush velvet tannins that are ripe, powerful and super granular.”
96 points Wine Enthusiast
This review highlights the wine’s savory depth and structure, describing blackberry and dried herb flavors and noting “savory flavors and a pleasing richness” throughout.
95 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
This review notes the wine’s dark-fruited intensity relative to its sibling bottlings, describing cassis and black cherry aromatics on a “full-bodied palate is rich and velvety, finishing long.”
Cult Wines International Notes:
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars stands among the most historically significant estates in California winemaking, founded in 1970 by Warren Winiarski with the purchase of a 40-acre property in what would become the Stags Leap District AVA. The S.L.V. vineyard — Stag’s Leap Vineyards, planted that same year — is the site that produced the legendary 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon that stunned the wine world by defeating France’s top Bordeaux estates at the 1976 Judgment of Paris, a moment widely credited with putting Napa Valley on the global map. Winiarski passed away in 2024 at age 95; the winery is now fully owned by the Antinori family of Tuscany, with winemaker Marcus Notaro continuing to refine the estate’s signature “iron fist in a velvet glove” style. This bottling draws from several of the vineyard’s original blocks, including Block 4 — planted in 1972 and known internally as the vineyard’s “grande dame.”
The 2021 growing season in Napa Valley is widely regarded as an outstanding vintage born from adversity. A second consecutive year of drought meant very little winter and spring rainfall, which naturally reduced yields and produced small, thick-skinned berries with concentrated flavor and color. Critically, the summer saw almost no extreme heat spikes — only nine days above 90°F in the Oakville area — allowing for smooth, even ripening without the stress that can flatten a vintage. The result is a vintage widely compared to standout years like 2013 and 2018: concentrated, pure, and vibrant, with fine-grained tannins and excellent aging potential.
Bottle Size:
750 mL
Storage History:
Always stored properly in a climate-controlled cellar.
Condition:
Perfect
