Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Fay Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
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Try pairing this estate grown Cabernet with prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin, roast chicken with fresh herbs, or hearty pasta.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
A magnificent effort, the 2014 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Fay is a Cabernet Sauvignon worth writing home about—this wine appeals both to fans of both New and Old World wines. The displays aromas and flavors of red fruit, dried earth, currants, and wildflowers. The wine's complex elements pair it well with a savory roast pork tenderloin. (Tasted: October 30, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014s are not yet in bottle. As for the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Fay Estate-Grown, this has a similar saturated purple color, terrific presence on the palate, great ripeness, loads of minerality, floral notes and beautifully pure blackcurrant liqueur intermixed with licorice and spice. It is full-bodied and rich with well-integrated tannin and wood. This is another 20- to 25-year wine, but should drink well after its release. Range: 92-95
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Fay is 100% varietal, all from the Fay Vineyard in Stags Leap, and was brought up in 90% new French oak. It has a classic bouquet of blackcurrants, cedary spice, tobacco leaf, and damp earth. This rich, full-bodied, nicely concentrated 2014 has the vintage’s charming, forward style yet has enough mid-palate depth and ripe tannin to keep for two decades.
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Decanter
Vibrant, blackcurrant nose, rich and oaky. There is an abundance of red and black fruits on the supple full-bodied palate, the flavours framed by thoroughly integrated oak and fine-grained tannins. Voluptuous and full of flavour but synchronously well mannered. A revelation.
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James Suckling
Lots of chocolate, wet-stone and currant aromas follow through to a full body that is tight and reined in. Very silky tannins that remain plush and enticing. Try in 2021.
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Wine Enthusiast
Grippy in tannin, this wine has a substantial weight on the palate that resolves in the glass to highlight flavors of black currant, clove and dried herb. Thick and rich, it has secondary characteristics of tobacco and earthy compost that accentuate its overall savory nature.
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Considered one of the "first growths" of Napa Valley, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars produces renowned Cabernet Sauvignon from its historic Stags Leap District estate vineyards. Learn about Stags Leap history and estate-grown wines.
History of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was founded in 1970 with the purchase of a 40 acre property in the now famed Stag’s Leap District AVA in Napa Valley. The winery brought international recognition to California winemaking and the Napa Valley region when their 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon won the 1976 Paris Tasting, also known as the "Judgement of Paris."
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Estate-Grown Cabernet Sauvignon
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' three estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignons - CASK 23, S.L.V. and Fay - are among the most highly regarded and collected Cabernet Sauvignons worldwide. The Cabernet wines are fashioned to express richness balanced by elegant restraint, an approach often described as "an iron fist in a velvet glove."
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Legend has it that quick and nimble stags would escape the indigenous hunters of southern Napa Valley through the landmark palisades that sit just northeast of the current city of Napa. As a result, the area was given the name, Stags Leap. While its grape-growing history dates back to the mid-1800s, winemaking didn’t really take off until the mid-1970s after a small but pivotal blind tasting called the Judgement of Paris.
When a 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon won first place against its high-profile Bordeaux contenders, like Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Haut-Brion, international attention to the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley escalated rapidly.
The vineyards in this one-of-a-kind wine growing region receive hot afternoon air reflecting off of its eastern palisade formation. In combination with the cool evening breezes from the San Pablo Bay just south, this becomes an optimal environment for grape growing. While many varieties could thrive here, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate with virtually no others, save for a spot or two of Syrah.
Stags Leap soils—eroded volcanic and old river sediments—encourage well established root systems and result in complex, terroir-driven wines. Stags Leap District reds have a distinct sour cherry and black berry character with baking spice and dried earth aromas, and supple tannins.