Cask 23 is one of Napa’s most legendary wines and a collector’s item for many wine lovers. The wine was created in 1974, when then winemaker André Tchelistcheff discovered that a single batch of grapes tasted extraordinarily wonderful, so he invented the “recipe”, which today is a blend of the very best fruit from the two fields S.L.V. and Faye. After fermentation, the wine is aged for 18 months exclusively in new French oak barrels, from some of the same coopers as e.g. also supplies the casks to the 1. Cru châteaux in Bordeaux. The scent is i.a. packed with oceans of dark fruit, graphite, cedar, coffee, dark chocolate and hazelnuts. In the taste, you are surprised by the fine underlying freshness and minerality of the wine, a classic characteristic from the best soil in Stag’s Leap. In the perfect world, you forget about Cask 23 for a minimum of 10 years in the cellar before you open the wooden case and open the first bottle. However, the wine can also easily be enjoyed in its youth, so you should find a decanter and get e.g. rib-eye of the finest quality for the grill. The wine will develop even greater complexity over the next 25-30 years and can be stored for up to 50 years.
Today, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is still the producer behind some of Napa Valley’s most sought-after wines. The house helped create a completely new phenomenon in the world of wine, when a Stag’s Leap Cabernet in 1976 for the now iconic tasting in Paris, won the blind tasting and among other things beat wines such as Mouton-Rothschild, Haut-Brion, Ridge Monte Bello and Leoville Las Cases. After this, the term ‘New World Wine’ was coined and no one laughed at the Cowboy wines from Napa anymore. Since then, Stag’s Leap has been a global superstar and the wines are in many of the most prestigious cellars around the world.
Napa Valley, the beautiful 20-mile long valley sheltered between the east and west mountain ranges, north of San Francisco. Here, the day is always sunny and warm, the nights cool. The Prohibition era from 1920-34 was a tough time for Napa Valley, but quite a few winemakers made it through the Puritan era by making altar wine. Napa Valley became world famous in 1976, when the wine Stag’s Leap was the first wine ever outside Europe to beat French 1st Crus in a blind tasting. The film “Bottleshock” is about the revolutionary event in the world of wine that put Napa Valley on the wine world map forever.). Napa Valley has become synonymous with Californian intense, high-alcohol, distinctive wine based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and the signature grape Zinfandel.
Name: Vinification: CASK 23 is the name for the original large wooden cask the wine was aged in. 20 months aging in 90% new French casks.
Tasting notes: Iconic, world-famous Cabernet Sauvignon characterized by incredible concentration and spiciness with perfumed notes of anise and cherry.
Recommended for: dry poultry, game, beef, grill and barbecue, French country cuisine
James Suckling 95 Points
Wine Spectator 95 Points
Vinous 95+ Points
