When Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars first opened its FAY Outlook & Visitor Center in 2014, guests reveled in the glorious views of the winery’s FAY Vineyard. Designed by Barcelona-based architect Javier Barba, the space featured a large tasting bar, behind which floor-to-ceiling glass windows showcased the grapes and mountains. Nearly a decade later, while the view has not changed, the visitor center interior has received a slight re-do, making it one of the most ideal spaces to sample some of wine country’s most revered wines.
A wine bar, once a Napa Valley staple, used to stretch the width of the tasting room. But it has since been removed to provide an unobstructed and picturesque view of the famed vineyard. In its place are furnished seating areas with panoramic vineyard views of where the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars story began. Established in 1961 by pioneering grape grower Nathan Fay (who bucked the belief that the region was too cool for Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen properly) the vineyard’s first output in 1969 proved the naysayers wrong. Fay’s stellar bottlings proved the region capable of producing a wine that could rival the best in the world. The following year, the founder of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars purchased the adjoining ranch, Stag’s Leap Vineyards, or S.L.V., after meeting with Fay and tasting wine made from Fay’s vineyard. S.L.V. achieved international fame in 1976 when three-year-old vines from the 1973 harvest produced a wine that triumphed over France’s greatest Bordeaux in a blind tasting known as the “Judgment of Paris.”
The stunning victory launched Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars into the ranks of the world’s most noteworthy Cabernet Sauvignon producers. Today, this history-making vineyard continues to produce complex wines of excellent structure, each promising long life and age-ability. The FAY and S.L.V. vineyards remain two of Napa Valley’s greatest and most esteemed, from which winemaker Marcus Notaro coaxes wines of classic beauty—those with balance, complexity, and harmony. His signature style has been described as “an iron fist in a velvet glove,” a reference to the artful balance between ripeness and restraint, softness and structure. He achieves that style due to the detailed attention of an entire dedicated team.
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars invites guests to experience the serene beauty of the estate while savoring exquisite wines during their tasting experiences. Enjoy The Estate Collection Tasting and Tour ($95pp), which showcases the winery’s finest Napa Valley wines from the FAY and S.L.V. estate vineyards.
