Taste: Black wine with red rim. Intense, spicy nose of sandalwood and cherry with notes of black licorice. On the palate, perfectly balanced dark fruit mingles with cedary French oak with hints of black licorice. This is a big wine, but it carries itself beautifully and finishes with a core of raspberry fruit and sandalwood that goes on and on. Tannins and acidity are perfectly integrated and balanced. A wine of great character and intensity, with the classic structure and concentration of Stags Leap.
Cameron Confidential: OK, now take the following with a grain of salt. The producer who makes this wine sells his Stags Leap District bottling for over $100 a bottle under his label. As much as I love this wine, it doesn't make the cut at $100, so I think it's fair to say it's a blend put together from barrel lots that didn't fit the final blend. That said, if you knock the price down to $16, it's an outstanding deal. The wine has true pedigree, structure, mouthfeel, and intensity with the pitch-perfect balance achieved only by the world's best winemakers.
Furthermore, you'll notice the label does not say "Stags Leap District." That's because the producer would not sell us the wine with the appellation attached to it as he has a lot to protect. But just because it can't go on the label doesn't mean it can't go on the website ....
Lot 60
2005 Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon
- Vintage: 2005
- Appellation: Stags Leap
- Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
- Alcohol by volume: 14%
- Production: 4,000 cases
- Release date: April 15, 2008
Downloads
- Small tasting notes (pdf)
