Lot 32 2023 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 750ml

93-POINTS James Suckling: Aromas of black currants, dark plums, cassis, graphite, dried herbs and cedar. The palate is full-bodied with a smooth, textural mouthfeel, firm yet refined tannins and balanced acidity, showing dark berries, cocoa and a savory finish. Good value. Drink or hold.

92-POINTS Jeb Dunnuck: A serious, focused Cabernet Sauvignon coming almost exclusively from the Stags Leap District (there's a splash of Oakville fruit), the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 32 Stags Leap District is based on 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petite Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc and aged in 80% new French oak. Juicy blue fruits, smoky tobacco, chocolate, and chalky minerality, as well as some beautiful Stags Leap floral character all emerge from the glass. It's medium-bodied, focused, and beautifully balanced on the palate, with ripe yet present tannins and a great finish. I'd happily drink a bottle any time over the coming decade. Drink 2026-2036.

I've had my eye out for a great Stags Leap District Cabernet all year and kissed a lot of frogs. But the fact is, Stags Leap is the tiniest appellation in Napa Valley and very little juice squirts out of there, save for the odd lot of poorly-attended-to wine.

And then at the last minute, BOOM! As folks stared into harvest and Fall sales projections, I was able to secure a good-sized lot of world-class, first run Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon!

Sourced from an estate vineyard and winery in the northern reaches of the Stags Leap appellation just off the Silverado Trail, this is no-expense spared production including a lets just say "state-of-the-art" winery, ~80% new French oak and a well over $125/bottle price point (sorry tight NDA, can't say much more). I am fairly confident this is their final bottling blend.

We just bottled the wine today and it's gorgeous. Rock and roll baby!

Deep ruby, almost opaque in the glass with a hint of purple around the rim. Gorgeous bouquet explodes out of the glass with juicy blackberry, black cherry, graphite, cedar and a kiss of chocolate/espresso. Elegant yet powerful, this is classic iron-fist-velvet-glove Stags Leap Cab with a fleshy, ripe mid-pale structure supporting a sumptuous array of black and red fruits that unfurl in resounding waves in a long, persistent finish supported on graphite and mineral-laced tannins and a kiss of cocoa powder. Beautifully integrated and perfectly saturated with tremendous finesse throughout, this is archetypal Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon

99% Stags Leap District, 1% Oakville District
91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petite Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc
14.6% alc.
200 cases available
Bottled August 28th, 2025