The Stags Leap District’s Regusci Vineyard occupies one of Napa Valley’s most historic properties, land that growers have coveted for nearly a century. Leaning against the eastern hillside, it is dotted with rocky outcroppings that absorb heat during the day and release it at night, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly as they gain complexity. We walked the rows, tasted the soils, tasted the fruit and, of those 238 luscious acres, chose 1.5 of the best. Well-drained volcanic soils define the parcel, stressing the vines to produce densely concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon. Benchmark, flagship, exemplary: whatever you want to call it, this is a truly powerful and opulent bottle.

This is a bold, broad shouldered wine that expresses the deeper, darker side of Cabernet Sauvignon. In the glass, the wine displays a completely opaque purple black hue. Fathoms of aromas come from deep inside the glass suggesting worn leather, cigar box, smoked meat and blackberry paste. The structured palate is tightly layered with interwoven notes of cassis reduction, river rock, dark chocolate shavings, blueberry compote, baking spices and purple lilac. This wine will reward those who have the patience to let it breath for a while in a decanter or a few years in the cellar. With a few hours over the right night, it will unfurl and tell a great story. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Vineyard planted in 1997. 221 cases produced. 

Thomas Rivers Brown (Winemaker): "I thought that by creating a wine label, I would inevitably become a better farmer, I would see the entire circle of my fruit. From the land which I farm to your glass. There is no more perfect way to judge a farmer than by the product which he creates out of the soil he has been entrusted with.”