2020 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon
ABOUT STAGS LEAP DISTRICT CABERNET SAUVIGNON
The 2020 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon offers aromas of figs, raspberry preserves, cherries, and green tea with refined, lasting flavors. The wine has lush tannins and lingering, persistent flavors of black currants and cherries.
VINEYARDS & WINEMAKING
The winery’s home is the Stags Leap District, known for warm afternoons, cool evening influences and lingering fog. The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, primarily from Vicassa Vineyard and FAY Vineyard, both in the Stags Leap District. FAY is the first vineyard planted (1961) to Cabernet Sauvignon south of Rutherford within area now known as the Stags Leap District. This wine is typically reserved exclusively for members and winery visitors.
VINTAGE
A dry and hot growing season, coupled with a global pandemic, and multiple wildfires made 2020 a year we won’t forget. Due to the dry winter, we started more tillage than normal in February to preserve soil moisture and reduce competition. Rain right at bloom interrupted fruit set and provided a “natural fruit thinning” that brought the crop in balance relative to the dry soil conditions. We were excited during the heart of the growing season, as vines were in balance, and the timing of impactful viticulture practices (leafing, crop adjustment, etc.) was nearly perfect. Several heat events, including a three-day heat spike over Labor Day weekend, led to an early harvest. This was the year of the LNU Complex Wildfire and the Glass Fire Complex. As we do every vintage, we taste grapes daily in the vineyards and back up what we are tasting with lab analysis. We are fortunate to have ready access to our own lab as well as the tools necessary to make educated picking, winemaking and bottling decisions, ensuring overall wine quality. The warm weather during this vintage produced wines with a riper character. We are very pleased with the resulting wines from the 2020 vintage (although there won’t be as many bottles) to carry our legacy forward.