Stags' Leap Winery Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017
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James
Suckling -
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Wine &
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Beautiful aromas of lilacs and pear blossom. Hints of lemon rind. Full-bodied, vivid and bright with superb depth and length. It finishes with a bang. Great wine. Drink now. Why wait?
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Tasting Panel
Fresh, nervy, and bright with tangy acidity, this expression is indicative of the racy style that results from a lack of malolactic fermentation.
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Wine & Spirits
A blend of fruit from Carneros and Oak Knoll, this chardonnay is impressive for its freshness and springtime scents of apple blossoms. Christophe Paubert uses oak here as a structural element, but it doesn’t get in the way of the meadow-flower scents or the tart-apple flavors of the fruit. Delicious on its own, or with ripe bloomy-rind cheeses this spring. Best Buy
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay (aged eight months in 25% new oak) opens with fresh apples, Bosc pears and white grapefruit notes with wafts of honeysuckle and toasted almonds. Medium-bodied, the palate is vibrant, clean and wonderfully pure with loads of spiced apple nuances on the finish.
Other Vintages
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Jeb
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James
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James
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James
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Wine &
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James
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred
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A fashionable country resort in the mid-twentieth century, popular with Hollywood due to its 1892 stone Manor House and historic gardens, legends of bootleggers and gangsters, ghosts and gypsies, Stags' Leap has been home to three major family groups up through the modern revitalization of the winery that began in the 1970s.
Stags Leap Manor, as it was called in the 1920s, was known as one of the prominent country retreats in the Napa Valley at a time when resort and spa business was big. In addition to lodging and dining, amenities included lawn tennis, swimming, horseback riding, children's activities, golf, music, cards, a library, and Napa Valley wines and liquors (prior to and after Prohibition).
An intimate valley within the greater Napa Valley, Stags Leap is a place of natural beauty, storied buildings and gardens, a lively history, and a reputation for elegant wines showing finesse and intensity.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.