Stags' Leap Winery Petite Sirah 2018
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Regarded for the winery's long history with Petite Sirah, this winery staple is generous in its core of black and blueberry fruit, pepper spice and floral notes.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of ripe plums and blueberries, together with smoked meat, licorice and dried flowers. Dark chocolate and wet forest floor, too. Tight and meaty with a dense, chewy tannin structure. Full-bodied, ripe and fruit-driven. Long, savory finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sourced from Calistoga all the way down to Coombsville, the 2018 Petite Sirah is inky purple-black in color. Vanilla notes—it spends 14 months in 25% new American oak—accent blackberries and blueberries on the nose, while it's full-bodied on the palate, where it's a bit chunky but not unfriendly, with a long, dusty finish. Best After 2025. Rating: 91+
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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.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.