Ended 2011 with a BANG: 2007 Stags Leap Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon

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Ended 2011  with a BANG: 2007 Stags Leap Artemis Cabernet  Sauvignon

As our year-long wine diary came to an end this New Years Eve we decided to splurge and pull out this 2010 Christmas gift  from our fellow wine aficionado and classmate.  We were actually able to sit on it for a year. Not bad coming from members of the instant gratification generation.  That said, we are pretty good about saving our better wines for future appreciation but I at least am not so good about deciding when the future is now,  why wait?  But that sounds like the instant gratification within talking again.  The proverbial fork in the road….

All the reviews I have found are favorable and almost all refer to the pedigree of this wine maker; the judgment in Paris Tasting of May 1976, where Stags Leap beat out the best classified Bordeaux. Most reviewers described it as “rich”, “bold”, “massive” and “sensational”. After all the 2007 vintage was considered to have been an outstanding one.  I agree with these statements and other references to holding and drinking after 2012 [lets not go there]. After decanting for an hour, and to be honest in hindsight it should have been more like 2 hours, I found this wine to be explosive on the tongue, flavorful with dark fruits detected [blackberries, currant], peppery [black], strong oak flavor and nose, yet still holding back somewhat.

By some standards a year or two would have most likely improved this already good tasting wine but as we end 2011 and begin 2012 I say:

Why wait? The future is now.

Related articles

• Shafer One Point Five 2005 Stag’s Leap Cab (canadianwineguy.com)
• 2007 Malk Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon (westlakewineclub.wordpress.com)
• Beaulieu Vineyards: Tasting A Benchmark California Cab (enofylzwineblog.com)