By Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
2006 Estate Napa Valley Horizontal Tasting

Vintage Details
The year began with flooding in Napa Valley, yet the dormant vines slept through it all. Cool, wet weather delayed spring bud break by a few weeks, but sunshine returned by early June. In July, a record-setting heat wave lasted about 10 days, which helped the vines catch up to a "normal" place in the typical growing season. Mild weather returned in August and continued through the fall, allowing for a moderately paced, long harvest period.

Wine Details For All Three Wines
Source: Napa Valley
Grapes: 100% estate grown
Aging: 24 months in French oak
Winemaker: Nicki Pruss

2006 FAY Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon
Background: In 1969, SLWC founder Warren Winiarski tasted and fell in love with Nathan Fay's homemade 1968 Cabernet Sauvignon. Winiarski began buying Fay's grapes in the early 1970s and, in 1986, purchased the vineyard from Nathan.
Terroir: There are 25 Cabernet Sauvignon blocks within the FAY vineyard. The blocks on the eastern hillside, closest to the Palisades and its volcanic soils - 10A, 10B, 12C, 7C, 11, and 6 - contribute fruit for this wine.
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aging: 30% new and 70% previously-filled
Tasting Notes: Opens with aromas of rich black fruit, espresso, anise, and cedar. The palate offers dense cassis, black cherry, and dark plum flavors, sweet black spices, judicious toasty oak, and brisk acidity.

2006 Chase Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
Background: Chase Creek runs through our property and is part of a watershed crucial to Napa Valley's ecosystem. Our creek restoration work in our estate vineyards has not only created a healthier watershed but also enabled us to produce more vibrant, energetic wines.
Terroir: Chase Creek, an offshoot of the Napa River, courses along the western edge of our S.L.V. and FAY vineyards in the Stags Leap District.
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (65% S.L.V. and 35% Fay Vineyard)
Aging: 85% new
Tasting Notes: Offers layered aromas of black cherry, blackberry jam, cocoa powder, nutmeg, and smoky oak. The broad palate delivers sweet black cherry, blueberry, milk chocolate, cola, and a touch of black licorice. The wine finishes with lingering flavors of plum and cherry, along with refreshing acidity and the smoothness of fine-grained tannins.

2006 Chase Creek Merlot
Background: Chase Creek runs through our property and is part of a watershed that is crucial to the health of Napa Valley's ecosystem. Our creek restoration work in our estate vineyards has helped not only to create a healthier watershed but also to help us produce more vibrant, energetic wines.
Vineyard: Chase Creek, an offshoot of the Napa River, courses along the western edge of our S.L.V. and FAY vineyards in the Stags Leap District.
Blend: 77% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aging: 63% new and 37% previously-filled
Tasting Notes: Layered aromas and flavors of red plum, black cherry, cranberry, vanilla, caramel, clove, allspice, star anise, and bergamot unfold on the nose and palate. Velvety, mouth-coating tannins are balanced by crisp acidity, and the black spice notes acquired from French oak aging lend a slightly savory character.
[Information provided by Votto Vines]