97 points, Tasting Panel
92 points, Wine Advocate
Providing a great point-counterpoint entry, the wine exhibits notes of Hershey’s milk chocolate and blue-raspberry. On the palate, Bing cherry juice and raspberry jam light up the senses, followed by fresh thyme and vanilla cream. Going from this juicy entry to the lush palate, a slight minerality is noticed on the back end. This is all well supported by the sweet, concentrated tannin for which the Stags Leap District is world renowned. This is followed by an essence of birch beer that is lightly woven together with uber-fine-grained tannin on the finish. This wine should age well for another 15 years and would be a great accompaniment to a bed of risotto generously covered in Parmigiano Reggiano shavings.
The 2022 growing season in Napa Valley saw record-breaking weather events, with 80% of the total rainfall arriving before the new year. This filled vineyard ponds for the first time in two years but was followed by the driest three months on record, leading to an early bud break. Despite the dry spell, healthier canopies resulted from earlier rains. The summer was generally average but slightly warmer than 2021. Harvest started 5 to 7 days earlier than the previous year and was 15% lighter but of exceptional quality. A Labor Day heat wave accelerated harvest, later cooled by a late September rain event. Overall, the 2022 harvest was the most condensed in recent memory.
The 2022 vintage was harvested from September 9th to October 28th. The grapes were hand-harvested at night when temperatures often dip to 50°F to capture vibrant acidity and fruit expression in the wine.
We first cold-soaked the must (crushed grapes) for gentle extraction and then fermented in stainless steel, concrete and oak barrel fermenters at 88°F. Rigorous pump-overs, increasing during the peak of the fermentation, developed deep color, rich varietal character, and fine tannins in the wine. The wine was aged in 60% new French oak barrels to meld the bright fruit expression with oak spice nuances. After three months of aging, we blended the vineyard components allowing them to marry for a total of 20 months of barrel élevage. This wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered to present the attributes of the vineyard in the purest form possible, from the dirt to the glass!
