Stags Leap District 2020: The top Cabernets from this Napa AVA
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars put this AVA on the map at the 1976 Paris Tasting. For 2020 it was one of Napa Valley's top appellations. Decanter's Napa correspondent Jonathan Cristaldi picks out the his favourites in 2020.
QUICK LINK 2020 Napa Cabernet: full vintage report and top-scoring wines
Roughly 1.6 km wide and 4.82 km long, the Stags Leap District AVA is marked by the jagged exposed rocks of Stags Leap, which stand out prominently above the region. It is the American AVA which produced the top-scoring red (Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars) of the Judgment of Paris tasting.
Scroll down for the top-scoring Stags Leap District 2020 Cabernets
We were very excited during the heart of the growing season’, says Marcus Notaro, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Winemaker, ‘as vines were in balance, and the timing of impactful viticulture practices was nearly perfect. Several heat events, including a three-day heat spike over Labor Day weekend, led to an early harvest.’ Notaro reported that ‘After extensive testing of the grapes in our Estate vineyards of Fay and SLV, we were confident that their integrity had not been compromised and proceeded with harvest and vinification.’
They are wonderful wines with depth and complexity and are among the stand-outs of the vintage. Although the Stags Leap District experienced plenty of hazy days, the fires of 2020 did not directly approach the area, and the wines tend to show their signature personalities, with perhaps riper fruit character and more robust structures as a result of the hot season.
Stags Leap District 2020: the top-performing wine
Cristaldi’s value picks
94 points Stags’ Leap, The Leap, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley 2020
89 points Malk Family Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District, 2020
Stags Leap District 2020: The top-scoring Cabernets
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