2011 Krutz Family Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard Atlas Peak Napa Valley

Hardball in the Bronx

Last March, we conducted an exhaustive tasting of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons from the 2011 vintage. We called that tasting “The NYC Marathon.” Over 100 wines were evaluated over four hours. Roughly half, we determined, were uninspired, most drawn from valley-floor vineyards that struggled to bring clusters to physiological ripeness in the weeks before harvest. But a couple dozen were excellent, with many outpointing what The Wine Advocate described as the “epic” 2010 vintage.

In the days following The Marathon, we sent emails to the top performers. With the much-ballyhooed 2012s ready for release, we hoped to negotiate steep discounts on the 2011s. Seven wineries agreed to our terms. But the Krutz family — whose deep, dark, brooding Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was the #3 wine of the day — played hardball.

Until today.

In 1991, Dr. Jan Krupp prepared to purchase a sizable mountain property on the prized east side of Napa Valley, on the now-celebrated slopes of Atlas Peak. But before signing on the dotted line, Krupp engaged a world-renowned geologist to confirm the property’s viability for the planting of-world class Cabernet Sauvignon.

After three weeks of soil studies, the geologist submitted a report that advised against Krupp’s purchase. There was no sign of water on Atlas Peak. The cost of irrigating the mountain would be prohibitive. Undeterred, Krupp next called in a “water witch,” who arrived on the property with just a mysterious copper apparatus. She trekked the mountain quickly, bouncing up the hillsides energetically. A half-dozen times, she stopped abruptly and made a mark on the ground, claiming that a stream was flowing hundreds of feet below. An excavation crew would soon verify the witch doctor’s findings. Krupp completed the purchase for Stagecoach Vineyard a few months later.

Dozens of wineries contract for Cabernet Sauvignon off of Dr. Jan Krupp’s Stagecoach Vineyard, including Caymus, Cardinale, Chappellet, and Pahlmeyer. But in 2011, Dr. Krupp authorized just a few to put Stagecoach Vineyard on the front label. This is one of them.

The 2011 Krutz Family Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard is opaque purple-black. The nose features brooding aromas of blackberry, black cherry, and licorice, touched with cedar. Rich and jammy on the attack, beautifully chiseled, filled with black-fruit preserves, a hint of bitter chocolate, buttressed by sumptuous mountain tannins. Drink now if you’re impatient, or far better, lay this Stagecoach Vineyard classic down until the early 2020s.

$65 on release. $19.50/bottle today on case purchases. The winery’s last 720 bottles are now up for grabs.

• ABV 14.40%
• Enjoy right away
• % Cabernet Sauvignon