Stags' Leap Winery Napa Valley Viognier

Winery Notes
Established in 1893, Stags’ Leap Winery is one of the oldest wine estates within the acclaimed Stags Leap district, continually producing wines expressive of its unique terroir. With an enduring winemaking philosophy that honors traditional techniques while embracing modern capabilities, and by using the finest grapes from our own 80-acre vineyard and from quality-focused growers, Stags’ Leap wines embody a natural balance, exhibiting both intensity and finesse, while bringing forth the inherent qualities of each variety.

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Tasting Notes
The 2020 Viognier is lively and vibrant, leaping from the glass with the variety’s classic stone fruit characters alongside a fragrant floral bouquet. Crisp and multi-layered with notes of orange blossom, nectarine, peach Tarte Tatin and Asian pear, alongside more delicate hints of toasted almond, allspice and honeysuckle. A lean core of fresh acidity is supported by a flinty minerality rounding out to a graceful finish that is mouthwatering, rich and luscious. Incredible depth and complexity, finishing soft and silky with a subtle spiced floral note. Perfect for warm weather enjoyment and pairing with lighter fare and exotic spiced dishes, an elevating accompaniment to any occasion.

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Vintage Notes
The 2020 season will be remembered for factors beyond the typical harvest season. It was a warm, dry winter and the rain and cooler weather didn’t arrive until the end of March. While the mild spring season was a great early start, our winery working conditions had extensive safety protocols due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Summer brought very cool mornings and very warm days, but then harvest was interrupted by wildfires across California, which came as grapes started to be picked, and we were very fortunate that none of our vineyards were in the areas of the active fires. The white wine harvest started in early August, the wines are showing excellent development in cellars, reflecting the fine vintage year. While the red wine harvest will be smaller yielding, and proved to be one of the most challenging in history, but our winemakers remained optimistic and very complimentary of the high quality achieved from this unprecedented vintage. Grapes for 2020 Luminus were picked between September 1st and September 22nd.

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Vineyard Notes
Our Viognier is sourced from select vineyards in the Oak Knoll and Carneros AVAs. Located in the southern part of Napa Valley, these cooler vineyards are optimal for growing Viognier, providing sufficient sun exposure for ripening and cool marine fog for maintaining natural acidity. The Viognier planted at these Oak Knoll and Carneros vineyards showcase flavor complexity and refined aromatic expression, ideal for our bottling.

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Winemaking Notes
The beauty of Viognier is captured in its freshness, and the traditional techniques used by Winemaker Christophe Paubert preserve that splendor. Harvested by hand, the fruit was whole cluster pressed and fermented in neutral French oak barrels. It was then aged on the lees and stirred every week for five months. This wine does not go through malolactic fermentation which helps to preserve the delicate floral aromas, fruit freshness and balanced acidity.