Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

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A bottle of Stag's Leap Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvigon

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, not to be confused with Stags' Leap Winery, is a Napa Valley winery established by Warren Winiarski in 1972.

The new winery achieved international recognition just four years after its establishment, at the historic Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. Its 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon won first place in a blind taste test by leading French wine experts. Its rivals included Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Montrose, Château Haut-Brion and Château Leoville Las Cases.

The San Francisco Wine Tasting of 1978 was a re-tasting of the same wines 20 months after the Paris event. Stag's Leap again won first place with a different set of judges.

In the Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981, a re-match held five years after the Paris competition, Stag's Leap won fourth place, well ahead of its French competition.

At the French Culinary Institute Wine Tasting of 1986, held ten years after Paris, Stag's Leap received sixth place and in the Wine Spectator Wine Tasting of 1986 it won fourth place, again ahead of its Bordeaux competitors.

In The Wine Rematch of the Century replication of the Paris wine competition conducted 30 years later, Stag's Leap ranked number two in the field of ten. It received a score of 119 points. Chateau Mouton Rothschild, the highest ranking French wine, received a score of 105 points. All Bordeaux wines fell into the bottom half of the ranking, having failed to age nearly so well as the California wines.