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Stags' Leap
2020 Stags' Leap Winemaker's Muse Yountville Tannat
Tasting Notes
Each year, our winemakers find a new muse to inspire them – often varieties or vineyards that exceed expectation. This year, a distinctive 2020 growing season resulted in tremendous character from a varietal not often seen in Napa Valley, Tannat.Tannat is an exciting varietal that is native to France and commonly featured in wines from Uruguay. It is a darker, richer, and more complex varietal than the typical Cabernet Sauvignon, with velvety-rich tannins and dark color extraction.This dramatic expression of “the muse” is dark and full-bodied with rich and powerful tannins, highlighting something other than Cabernet Sauvignon, and allowing this unique varietal to shine in its own light versus being more hidden in a red blend. The nose is perfumed with floral notes of cherry blossom, almond paste, and dark plum. The Tannat contributes a plush, dense core of dark berry fruit alongside full, textured, mouth-coating tannins. The palate opens with layers of blackberry, mulberry, and pomegranate fruit, while more subtle hints of toffee, roasted nuts, dark hibiscus, citrus oil, and Damascus rose, alongside hints of lavender dance across the palate towards the finish. There is a cozy, comforting warmth to this wine, because of the plush depth of character that Tannat offers, alongside a vibrant, mouthwatering line of acidity that keeps this wine lively, juicy, and pleasing sip after sip.
Technical Information
| Varietal | Red Wine |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Appellation | Yountville |
| Blend | 85% Tannat, 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon & 4% Malbec |
| Oak Treatment | 100% French oak barrels (12% new) for 18 months |
| Alcohol % | 14.2% |
Winemaking
Our winemaking team practiced simple methods to highlight the Tannat grape’s unique characteristics in this wine to bring forward the pleasing aromatics, color, and tannin profile, which this varietal is known for. The grapes for this wine undergo a brief maceration period (much shorter than the usual two weeks because of the innate structure and power within Tannat), designed to gently extract flavor, color, and tannin from the skins. A small amount of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec is added to the blend to round out the flavor complexity and soften the tannin profile. The wine was aged in French Oak barrels (12% new) for 18 months to enhance the layers and complexity of the wine, as well as contribute a light spiced note. Then, the wine is bottled for further maturation in bottle to create the perfect balance and harmony for this vintage of the winemaker’s muse.Vintage
The 2020 season will be remembered for factors beyond the typical harvest season. It was a warm, dry winter and the rain and cooler weather didn’t arrive until the end of March. While the mild spring season was a great early start, summer brought very cool mornings and very warm days. Then harvest was interrupted by wildfires across California, which came as grapes started to be picked, and we were very fortunate that none of our vineyards were in the areas of the active fires. The white wine harvest started in mid to late August while the red wine harvest was smaller yielding and proved to be one of the most challenging in history, but our winemakers remained optimistic and very complimentary of the high quality achieved.Vineyard
The Tannat was sourced entirely from our estate vineyards at Dos Rios Ranch, located in the heart of Napa Valley, in Yountville, and just a few miles from our Manor House estate. Here the alluvial fan soils encourage the vines to root deeply to find water. A few feet of topsoil cover a defined bed of cobblestones mixed with gravel, which provide enough stress to keep the grapes desirably small. The grapes achieve exceptionally thick and flavorful skins, which yield a rich, highly extracted wine.