2019 Kukeri Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Napa Valley

Plenty of winemakers would like to emulate Kukeri’s Pete Kirilov—and trust us, our members would be damn glad if more winemakers followed his lead.  

Kirilov practices small-lot Cabernet winemaking in Napa’s most expensive appellations—places where sky-high prices are commonplace— but manages to keep his bottles in the two-digit zone. That’s why we take all we can get from this Cabernet ace. 

Today, the 2019 Kukeri Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District is the prize. A wine that speaks of the sun-kissed slopes whose grapes shape the lavishly concentrated behemoths from legends like Cliff Lede and Shafer, it’s bold, lusciously seductive, and regal in power, and it shows why Kukeri is one of our all-time favorite producers

Here you have a portrait in miniature of Stags Leap, Napa’s smallest AVA and home to a cluster of historic vineyards and wineries that made the Valley world-famous. Coarse, gravelly, well-drained soils make for low-vigor vines that yield fruit with great depth and flavor. The rocky faces of the palisades to the east reflect the sun’s heat onto the vines, fostering ripeness in the grand yet silky Cabernet. The finished wine wields an extraordinary aromatic intensity, as notes of dark plum, violets, and espresso explode from the glass.

Kirilov exercises extreme care when selecting growers. He wears out shoe leather knocking on doors of vineyard owners, and pores over topo maps, climate charts, and soil reports to locate the choicest pockets of terroir.  

Few can match a bottle like this dollar for dollar, and our members recognize how much of a rarity it is.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.50%
• 30 mins
• Now – 2028
• % Cabernet Sauvignon
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork