KARIA Chardonnay 2019 White Wine, 750 ml

Stag's Leap

The name »Stag's Leap« goes back to a legend passed on by the people of the Wappo tribe formerly living in Napa Valley. From a rocky hill in the valley, a stag is said to have escaped its hunters by a courageous leap to freedom. A good 10 million years ago, the soils were formed by volcanic activity in the Vaca Mountain Range, which borders the Napa Valley to the east. To the west, a hill runs through the middle of the valley, so that the Stag's Leap District practically forms a valley within a valley, with special lava soil and its own climatic conditions. The summers are warm, the winters mild and it rains only rarely throughout the year. Due to the warm temperatures, the grapes reach perfect ripeness. Due to the influence of the nearby Pacific Ocean, fog often forms in the morning, optimally allowing the grapes to retain their freshness and elegance. The special terroir of the Napa Valley with its more than 100 different soils with a high volcanic content and the special climate give the wines their unique flavours typical of the region. In 1970, the winery was founded by Warren Winiarski and his wife Barbara in the Napa Valley and after only a short time it attracted keen attention with its participation in the »Judgment of Paris« on 24 May 1976 in Paris. In complete contrast to what was expected, the Californians emerged as the winners in both categories in the blind tasting of ten top-class French and Californian white and red wines: Chateau Montelena 1973 (white), Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon (red). The decision of the predominantly French jurors gave Californian wines a massive boost worldwide and made Stag's Leap Wine Cellars immortal. In 1986, Winiarski bought the neighbouring Fay Vineyard, which today, together with the original S.L.V. vineyard, forms the heart of the winery. The winery itself characterises the unmistakable style of its wines as »an iron fist in velvet gloves« – powerful wines with a backbone, clear structure, high potential, gently enveloped in juicy fruit, smoothness and consummate elegance.