Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2014

Professional Ratings

• 97 Jeb Dunnuck
  The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23 is a smoking effort from this team. Revealing a deep purple color and stunning notes of blackcurrants and black raspberries like fruit, it offers loads of spice, cedar and dried flower nuances, full-bodied richness, a ripe, full-bodied, majestic texture, beautiful tannin quality, and a great finish. This sensational 2014 has a rare mix of power and elegance and will keep for 20-25 years.
• 96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2014s are not yet in bottle. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23 Estate-Grown is a big-time winner with great fruit, terrific texture, full body, sensational purity and plenty of blue and black fruits interwoven. The amazing thing about all of these wines is that no oak shows through whatsoever, although I suspect the percentage of new oak is relatively high. That’s an example of the extravagance and richness of the fruit that the winery is achieving. Again, purity, harmony, complexity and individuality are hallmarks of these wines. Drink this 2014 Cask 23 over the next 25 years.
  Barrel Sample: 94-96
• 95 Wine & Spirits
  Winemaker Marcus Notaro blends this wine from two adjacent estate-owned vineyards farmed by Kirk Grace. Fay, with its alluvial soils, provides 44 percent of the blend in 2014; the balance comes from S.L.V., where the vines rise higher up the eastern bench of Stag’s Leap, rooted in the crush of volcanic rock that has washed down off the palisades. They combine in a cabernet with cool richness, layering fruit notes of chocolate and wild mushrooms with a rush of satiny fruit tannins. There are no barriers to obscure the wine’s youthful integration or its complexity, still incipient, but there in the breath for minutes, compellingly fresh and satiating in its savor.
• 95 Decanter
  Cask 23 is a selection of the finest barrels produced from the estate's vineyards. This is pure Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 90% new oak. The oak is very evident on the intense blackcurrant nose, yet it doesn't dominate. The palate is suave and broad, given texture with fine-grained tannins. There's impeccable balance and poise, and a long lingering finish, thanks to the wine's fine acidity.
• 94 James Suckling
  Glorious aromas of blacberries and blackcurrants follow through to a full body, ultra-fine tannins and an alluring finish. It shows such polish and verve. Try it in 2020, but it's already a show to taste. Shows the pedigree.
• 94 Wine Enthusiast
  A 100% varietal and estate-grown wine from the site made famous in the Paris Tasting, this offers yeasty brioche aromas that lead to crisp expansive flavors of cassis and red currant. The oak is supportive and integrated, adding to the wine’s overall earthiness of dried herb and clove, lasting and juicy on the finish.
  Editors' Choice
• 93 Wine Spectator
  Deftly balanced, creamy and smooth-textured, with an elegant array of red and dark berry, anise, cedar and mocha flavors, ending with fine-grained tannins and a splash of mocha. Drink now through 2032.