Tasting Notes from Winemaker (1991-2001) Celia Masyczek: "The wine now is deep and ripe, with the darkest, richest color we've yet produced. The aromas are full and forward, with strong chocolate, cassis, and dark sweet cherry tones. In the mouth the wine is intensely flavored with ripe berry and cocoa, plenty of vanilla and spicy oak, and a robust texture that will stand its own against any hearty, fully flavored dish. The extra six months in oak has clearly added structure and body to the mid-palate. This is clearly the biggest, most intense and extracted wine we've produced to date! In outstanding years such as 1997, the ultimate quality of a wine is apparent even before the fruit has been harvested. This wine is a textbook example of an exceptional vineyard in an exceptional vintage year." Reviews by Wine Experts: Alder Yarrow of Vinography: A Wine Blog made some very nice comments on our 1997 Cabernet in his August 28, 2008 post. Jancis Robinson, "Staglin Family Vineyard 1989-2002," jancisrobinson.com, August 8, 2005 "Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 Rutherford-- Very deep crimson. Those warm bricks again! Sweet and rich and opulent. Very flattering and with nice freshness too. Still lots of tannin but this is much more convincing and complex and interesting than the 1996. (18-/20) Drink 2008-15." Charles Morgan, The Fine Wine Experience Ltd. "Classic Series" Tasting, June 15, 2005--"Purple. A slightly bubble gum nose, otherwise closed. Noticeably less acid than the 96, it had nice plummy characters, with a decent finish, concentration, but felt a little two dimensional. 90 points. The San Francisco Chronicle, December 23, 2004: "Staglin Family Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, 1997-- What a difference two years make: the chalk and bell pepper are pleasing, the tannins structure a flood of black fruit flavors, and the finish is juicy." Dick Rosano, The Wine News, October/November 2002 "1997 Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford-- A deep, dark almost brooding red, suggesting great depth and concentration that will evolve over the coming years into a stupendous wine. It already displays the delicate balance of lovely fruit with earthy components. In the bouquet, the focus is on blackberry, raspberry and cinnamon; the palate is plush with concentrated blackberry, black cherry and raspberry fruit and enticing elements Score: 96" Paul Hernandez, DamnGoodWine.com Just in time for the Holidays! The perfect dinner wine for your typically heavy dinner. This Cali Cab is a beauty! Three words, Concentrated, Concentrated, Concentrated! Reviewing this wine, I can only think of one thing, the poor souls not familiar with Staglin Family Vineyards. They have been creating delicious wines for years, their flagship wine being their Cabernet Sauvignon. Located on the Rutherford bench in the Napa Valley. Those who are familiar with the wine will be pleased to know this is their most full bodied Cab in recent history. The aroma is deliciously sweet, cassis, bittersweet chocolate and vanilla. They come together in the glass to form a fragrant harmony. In the mouth, the concentration comes through in full bodied cassis and smooth oak. The vanilla is not only on the nose, but in the intense concentration it shows through to add balance and a distinctiveness that is welcome. The tannin structure insures the wine will be delicious for years to come. Yea, good luck not drinking it. This wine is truly a classic in a classic vintage. Drink up! Paul Franson, "What's Upvalley," The Napa Valley Register, August 22, 2001 "St. Supéry Winery asked a bunch of writers, sommeliers and winemakers to blind taste 36 1997 Cabernets and cousins, all costing $50 or more. They included most of the unobtainable cult wines... Staglin Family Cabernet came in second." Dan Berger's Vintage Experiences, August 30, 2001 "Staglin: Racy aroma of cherry with traces of herbs. More elegant than most, and a wine sure to open up with two or more years in the bottle. Complex, shows great potential." Gerald D. Boyd, "Wine Potpourri," San Francisco Chronicle, September 5, 2001 "Last month, St. Supéry winemaker Michael Scholz put together the Second Annual Cult Cabernet Tasting... St. Supéry 1997 Red Meritage ($50) scored the highest, over second-place Staglin 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon ($100). Rounding out the top five were Dalla Valle ($160), Joseph Phelps Insignia ($160) and Araujo Eisele ($175)... St. Supéry's 1997 Napa Valley Dollarhide Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon ($70) came in seventh, ahead of highly coveted Cabernet Sauvignons such as Bryant (12th), Caymus Special Selection (19th), Opus One (29th), Harlan (33rd) and Dominus (34th)." WineToday website "Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5) Comments: Incredible. It's deeply concentrated and altogether heavenly. General Qualities: full-bodied, complex, dry, balanced acidity, integrated oak, fairly tannic Color: deep purple Aromas: blackberry, licorice, toast, vanilla Flavors: black currant, blackberry, chocolate, coffee, peppery, toasted nuts Other Descriptors: extracted, masculine, rich, supple, voluptuous Date Reviewed: 10/02/00 Reviewed by: Tim Fish" Smart Money, March 2001 This issue describes a blind tasting held at Le Cirque 2000 in New York: "Our top wine, No. 12, turned out to be a 1997 Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet. Hersom (Ralph Hersom, M.S. and host of the tasting) told us that the dusty aftertaste is a hallmark of wines from vineyards such as Staglin, found on Napa's Rutherford . . . Bench. Staglin has developed a cult following, and its wines aren't cheap or easy to find. But at $65 for the bottle we tasted, about a fourth of what a comparable first-growth Bordeaux costs, it struck us as good value." Among the tasters were wine experts John Brecher and Dottie Gaiter, wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal. The wines included both California Cabernets and Bordeaux. Richard Ehrlich, independent.co.uk, December 10, 2000 "If you're looking for that bottle of red that will impress the hell out of anyone, I would suggest Staglin Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 1997... This is one of the greatest wines made in the Napa Valley, and not so expensive as much of the competition." Wine Enthusiast, November 2000 "Staglin 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford)--A youthful, exciting wine that offers plenty of earth and cassis. It seems tight and closed now, with packed in tannins, a condensed mouthfeel and some mild green pepper notes on the tail end. Definitely a wine for the cellar. Give it some time and it should open up its wings. 92 points." Wine Spectator, October 15, 2000 "Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 1997--Complex, spicy aromatics lead to a ripe, supple, polished core of dusty currant, black cherry, black olive and plum, finishing with a touch of sage and anise. Drinkable now, though short-term cellaring should round out the tannins nicely. Best from 2002 through 2012. -J.L.--92 points." The Insiders' Wine Line, Volume 4, Number 1 "The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley has an exotic perfumed nose of blackberry, black currant, cocoa, mint, tea, cedar with floral highlights. The flavors of black pit fruits, blackberries, licorice, toast and spicy oak are exceptionally well balanced with good depth and texture followed by a long, lingering, fruity, spicy finish. 94 points." NetWine Pro- The Internet Wine Professionals "Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 (limited)--By far, Staglin's best Cabernet to date. Fantastic balance, gobs of flavor! Very drinkable now but will last for 20 years. This is definitely one to add to the cellar. Wine Spectator barrel rating 95-100 points." Staglin Family Shines at Aspen Food & Wine Festival For the second year in a row Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was picked as one of the top five American red wines at the Aspen Food & Wine Festival. Judging was conducted by a panel of Master Sommeliers specially selected by American Express from the American Express Restaurant Trade program. Their comments about our wines: 1997 Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon--"An intensely flavored and classically structured cabernet of quality that one rarely encounters. An estate that has made great strides since 1995." Connoisseur's Guide to California Wine, August 2000 "Staglin Family Vineyard 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon--Well-established as a producer of big, sinewy, highly extracted Cabernets, Staglin maintains form with this ambitious character-loaded youngster. Very ripe and very oaky with ten-year tannins presenting a convincing argument against any near-term consumption, it is ever underlain by deep, cassis-like fruit, and that fruit survives despite its gruff astringency. Its richness is never in question, and patient collectors should hide it away in a quiet corner of the cellar--2 'puffs.'" Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, December 1999 issue "1997 Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon--The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon would appear to be the finest yet produced. Opaque ruby colored, with a sweet cassis, loamy soil, floral, and toasty-accented nose, this dense, powerful wine displays abundant richness, glycerin, and alcohol (14.2%) in addition to sweet tannin. Aged in 80% French oak, it finishes with a flurry of pure black fruit and toast flavors. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2023--90-92+ Points." Global Gourmet website: WineDay by Fred McMillin for November 14, 2000: "It just happened again. The 1997 just whipped 59 competing table wines, so this is... Our Wine of the Day. Tasting Notes- "My panel was almost speechless. Comments: 'Wow!' 'Yeh!' 'Classic.' They rated it EXCELLENT. Thanksgiving is coming. I'd savor it with a plate of cheeses after the turkey." "In Vino Veritas: King of the American Cabernets," by Dick Rosano, in Fra Noi, March 2001 "1997 Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon--This wine is just opening up and should prove to be a classic. The wine has rich, luscious aromas of blackberry, cherry, raspberry, and toasty oak, and smooth, tantalizingly rich flavors of blackberry, cherry, and currant, set off by licorice, ash, and toast." Charles E. Olken, The Underground Wine Journal, February 2001 "1997 Staglin Vineyard Rutherford, Napa Valley-- Staglin has earned a reputation for big, sinewy, age-worthy wines, and this latest version is no exception. The wine is very ripe and very oaky with rough astringency underlaid by deep, cassis-like fruit making a convincing argument against any near-term consumption. This one belongs in a dark corner of your cellar for the next eight to 10 years and should last twice that long." Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, December 2000 issue "The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon offers ripe cassis, new oak, tobacco, and spice box aromas and flavors. Rich, structured, moderately tannic, and long, it needs 2-3 years of cellaring, but should keep well for two decades. 90+ points." Wineaccess.com Member Reviews "Average rating: 4.67 (3 ratings) •'Return to Paradise' By JeffSullivan November 22, 2000 'Cassis nose, firm yet supple with sweet spices, cassis fruit, coffee and toasty oak, ample concentration and intensity, well integrated, long finish. 93 points. 5 stars (out of 5).' •'Classic but needs more aging' By timothylin_10023 November 12, 2000 'Superb, long tannic lasts at least 2 minutes. Dark ruby red with a note of oak and blackberries. Needs a little patience on the taste of alcohol because it's too young to drink now. Can be very classic after 10 years! Bought this bottle at $68. 5 stars (out of 5).'" Recent Tasting Notes: April 2001--"Open 1 half hour ahead. Mint, lots of ripe fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg, cedar, black pepper, black raspberry, strong black fruits and aromas, nice weight and balance, powerful finish. Recommend lay down for at least another 5 years." Tasted by Shari Staglin, winemaker Andy Erickson, and winemaking consultant Celia Masyczek Wine Profile: Harvest Dates: September 15 - October 27, 1997 Fermentation: 14-28 days on skins after vertical drop crushing and destemming 50% pressed at dryness, 50% extended skin contact Barrel Aging: 28 months (at bottling-January 2000) Oak: 65% New French, 35% 1-4 year old French Blend: 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, all estate grown in Rutherford |