2014 Karo-Kann Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon 750 ml

The Chase for Elite Cabernet Sauvignon

The essence of the 2014 Karo-Kann Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon is a success story. Our mission: to provide Wine Access clients with a bold, pedigreed Napa Cabernet exceeding what anyone thought was possible for under $32/bottle.

Were there challenges along the way? Absolutely. After Robert Parker released his report on the stellar 2012, 2013, 2014 Napa vintages, awarding a record number of 96-100-point scores, the market for Cabernet was anything but buyer-friendly. To find fruit that met our standards we made trips to over 20 wineries. Finally, we found what we were looking for in majestic Stags Leap. The juice was plush, loaded with black fruit and subtle hints of cocoa. The value, too, was remarkable — had the wine been bottled at the estate where it was grown, the price would have been $100/bottle.

While we can’t state the exact name or location of our source (an NDA has our lips sealed), we can say that our 8-barrel lot was purchased in December of 2015 from one of the most revered estates in Stags Leap — a short clip down the Silverado Trail from the legendary Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. We then commissioned one of the most respected enologists in the valley (previously of Jordan and Peter Michael) to oversee racking, filtering, and bottling.

It wasn’t easy to find a way around the inflation that Parker’s report spurred in Napa, but in the end the results were exactly what we’d hoped for: a lavish, massively concentrated yet elegant Cabernet Sauvignon that far over-delivers on price.