Rob's "Wine of the Week" Archives
So here is my wine review for the week of August 14th, 2005...
Stag's Leap 2001 "The Leap" Cabernet Sauvignon
Description: "The Leap," is a new entry into the Stag's family, which has been producing rather inconsistent wine of late. They make some great reds and some forgettable ones. I believe they have fallen into the trap of producing too many varietals.
How to Get it: I got this just released bottle at Sam's Club for $41. You can find it in some wine shops and at the winery.
How Much: It is generally $40-45 in most stores, $75-100 in restaurants.
My Thoughts: This was a pleasant surprise. I expected very little from this wine as it seems that in the past 5 years, "Stag's" have put all of their great wine into their upper-end lines "Fay" and "SLV." This is a pleasant cabernet that has a vanilla/berry flavor to it, a nice smooth tobacco finish and some taint crème brulee flavors in the aftertaste. The tannins provide a little more bite than I'd like, but by no means do they overpower the pleasantness of the wine.
Overall Score: There are better $40 bottles of red from Pride, Phelps and Rombauer, which deliver amazing wines for that price. For $40 you should get a great bottle of wine and this is damn close, so you are basically getting what you pay for. It is not a bargain, but it's not over-priced either. This wine will probably be even better in 3-5 years. On my 5 vine scale, I give this wine 4 vines.
Stag's Leap 2001 Cabernet = 
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