1991 Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23

The superb 1991 Cask 23 Proprietary Red Wine appears to be one of the truly outstanding examples of this expensive proprietary red wine. The wine's saturated dark purple color is followed by a huge, unevolved but sexy nose of toasty new oak, dense, black-cherry and jammy cassis fruit, and vague scents of underbrush and spice. Extremely rich and concentrated, it offers intriguing blackcurrant and coffee flavors, full body, remarkable harmony, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. Still young, unevolved, and less flattering at present than the more open knit 1990, it merits cellaring of 2-4 years. Readers who have followed Stags Leap Wine Cellars' Cask 23 since the debut vintage of 1974 realize these wines are often deceptively easy to drink when young, yet age amazingly well despite what appears to be their forward, flattering, precocious personalities. This winery enjoys a much deserved fine reputation for its bevy of complex, elegant, authoritatively flavorful red wines, particularly the Fay Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and the Cask 23 Proprietary Red Wine, the latter one of California's benchmark wines. The white wine program has been less impressive, although progress is evident with each new vintage. Tel. (707) 944-2020; Fax (707) 257-7501.