Stag's Leap Wine Cellars "CASK 23" Cabernet Sauvignon 1993
(Stags Leap District, Napa Valley, California) - [WA 94]

About the Winery:
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, notably known for being the winery that won the Cabernet Sauvignon competition in the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris, was founded in 1970, and is considered a Napa Valley first-growth estate.

"Our signature style has often been described as “an iron fist in a velvet glove,” a reference to the artful balance between ripeness and restraint, softness and structure, that yields Napa Valley wines of exceptional beauty and long life. Achieving that style requires a level of attention to detail found only among the world’s best and most dedicated wine producers."

About this Wine

The story of CASK 23 began during the harvest of 1974. Back then, the winery enlisted the help of celebrated winemaker André Tchelistcheff. As he tasted through various lots of new wines from that year, one lot from S.L.V. was so beautiful and deliciously distinct the winery decided it should be bottled separately. It was named CASK 23 for the large wooden cask in which it was aged. Today, the wine is a blend of the most distinctive fruit from the S.L.V and FAY vineyards, resulting in a wine of extraordinary depth and richness balanced by restraint. Over the years, CASK 23 has become one of the most highly regarded and collected wines worldwide.

Vineyards & Winemaking:
Cask 23 is the reserve blend of S.L.V. and Fay fruit. These two estate vineyards lie adjacent to one another below the Stags Leap crag on the eastern slopes of Napa Valley just south of Yountville. In this area, surrounding hillsides form a smaller, sheltered valley where climatic conditions are moderate and favorable. Despite their proximity, each vineyard produces slightly different fruit character; these separate vineyard "personalities" have become more pronounced through the wine grower's art. Each vineyard provides its own distinctive beauty to Cask 23. S.L.V. provides classical Bordeaux elements of tea leaf, earthy richness, and multi-layered textures. Fay offers fragrant aromas and voluptuous flavors of black cherry, plum and berry. These two vineyards are now reaching a new level of maturity which contributes to the overall complexity of the blend.

Vintage:
Six years of low rainfall ended with the winter of 1992-1993. The exquisite perfume and lush flavors of the 1993 fruit seem indicative of the vines' response to the drought's end, rather than simply an effect of the short crop caused by late spring rains. Consistent warmth throughout the summer allowed uninterrupted and relatively early ripening. This preserved acidity and fruit flavor. Wines from this vintage possess lean, elegant textures. 

Technical Information

Harvest Dates: Sept. 16 – Oct. 2, 1993
pH: 3.42
Barrel Aging: 18.5 months; 100% French oak
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Stags Leap District, Napa Valley (100% estate)
Release Date: September 1996

Ratings & Reviews

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"All of the other current and up-coming releases are outstanding. The 1993 Cask 23 reveals that multi-dimensional personality, saturated purple color, intense aromatics (fruitcake, smoke, chocolate, and black-cherry jam), full body, and silky smooth texture so common to this Cuvee, as well as a long, rich finish. Forward and flattering, this wine will evolve for 15-20+ years." - Robert M. Parker, Jr. (December 1995)