Royal Wine’s Herzog Wine Cellars will soon release its first-ever Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, from the exceptional 2018 vintage.
Planted with only about 1,200 acres of grapevines, Stags Leap District AVA is considered as one of the most prime and smallest growing areas in Napa Valley. Located on the Silverado Trail and about seven miles north from the town of Napa, it was in 1989 the first AVA in the US approved based on the distinctiveness of its soil. According to Herzog’s Chief Winemaker Joe Hurliman, “the soil of Stags Leap is influenced by the erosion of the Vaca Mountains and volcanic soil deposits, which are considered important to Stags Leap reputation for stellar, elegant Cabernet Sauvignon with outstanding structure.”
In 1976, at The Judgement of Paris, the 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars CS won first place. “I’d been wanting to make Cabernet Sauvignon from Stags Leap District for 20 years, and in 2018 my winemaking inspiration was from Stags Leap. It’s all about letting the fruit speak through the wine. I’m saying this with a wide smile on my face…” added Mr. Hurliman.