STAGS LEAP ARTEMIS PLUS

The 2015 blend is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, a bit of Merlot, Petit Verdot (1%) and a bit of Malbec. We also look up valley as well to St Helena, Rutherford and Calistoga – it’s a little warmer up there so you get some darker fruit flavours in the Cabernet, softer, lusher tannins – so Artemis is a blend of fruit from all of those areas.” We use fruit from mountain areas like Atlas Peak, where grapes and the wines have a wilder quality and bigger tannins Coombesville – that’s the cooler part of the valley that helps to add some fresh fruit to Artemis, some red fruit and nice bright acidity.

Napa is so wonderfully diverse and this is supposed to be a celebration of that,” Notaro explains. “Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, the protector of the stag, but this wine is also a hunt around Napa Valley because we use some estate fruit but we also source fruit from other areas. “The 2015 wines are a little bit richer than say 2014 or 2012 but still not as powerful as 2013, 13 is still the power year for Napa Cabernet, the flavours are a little bit darker and riper.”įirst to be tasted – Artemis – showing the diversity of Napa June through to August was fairly even and then the heat turned up in September. “2015 was still a fairly dry year but a low yielding vintage – some 25% down – the key was the crappy weather we had during bloom… that is what resulted in fewer berries per cluster and smaller berries overall,” Notaro says So how did 2015 compare with the previous three vintages in Napa? The balance is getting wines with richness and flavour but which also have elegance and finesse on the finish,” says Marcus Notaro, chief winemaker. The velvet glove – that describes more the finish the softness and the suppleness.

“The iron fist describes the power, the tannin, the structure, the richness and the body when you taste our wines.

It may be a cliché to call wines from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ‘an iron fist in a velvet glove’ but in this case with some of the wines and vintages it is the most perfect descriptor.

STAGS LEAP ARTEMIS PLUS

Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil-as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.Chief winemaker Marcus Notaro takes us through the new 2015 releases from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, explains the vintage characteristics plus gives an insight into how the wines are pure expressions of very different terrain. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.Ĭabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine.

Stags leap artemis