One of Napa Valley's most celebrated sub-AVAs, famous as the source of the 1976 Paris Tasting wines that defeated Bordeaux First Growths in blind competition. The palisade rock formation on the eastern valley wall creates a unique thermal belt — warm days with afternoon shadow from the rocks creating rapid cooling — resulting in Cabernet Sauvignon of extraordinary silkiness, approachability, and iron-mineral precision.
| Year | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | — | Outstanding Napa growing season; Stags Leap Cabernet of exceptional silkiness and iron-mineral precision |
| 2022 | — | Good vintage; characteristic approachable, cashmere-textured Cabernet from the eastern valley palisades |
| 2021 | — | Smoke-affected harvest required fruit sorting; best wines showed the district's signature elegance |
| 2020 | — | Challenging wildfire smoke vintage; careful selection produced wines of typical district character |
| 2019 | — | Benchmark Napa vintage; finest Stags Leap District Cabernet in a generation |
| 2018 | — | excellent |
| 2016 | — | excellent |