2013 World's End Cabernet Sauvignon Stir It Up Stagecoach Pritchard Hill 750 ml

Among the Stagecoach Vineyard Roost in Parker’s Landmark 2013 Vintage

If you ever make it to St. Helena, we recommend taking the Silverado Trail south out of town. When you reach the outskirts of Oakville, make a left towards Lake Hennessey. After 15 minutes of steep inclines and white-knuckle curves, you’ll come to the top of Pritchard Hill, up near Atlas Peak, home to some of the most breathtaking vistas of Napa Valley around. One of the inconspicuously numbered street signs leads to Stagecoach Vineyard. Don’t miss it. Jonathan Maltus certainly didn’t.

When Maltus moved into Napa Valley in 2008, his World’s End project quickly garnered attention among serious collectors. It was the year before Maltus earned a 99-point rating from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate for his 2009 Le Dôme. The next year, Parker upped the ante, as the 2010 Le Dôme joined Châteaux Petrus and Cheval Blanc in the Right Bank’s 100-point club.

Maltus’ rise to global fame as one of the torchbearers of the Right Bank’s “Garagiste” movement began in 1994. Intrigued by Jacques Thienpont’s winemaking at Le Pin, Maltus scoured Bordeaux’s Right Bank for vineyard land. In the heart of Saint-Émilion, he discovered a 5-acre jewel adjacent to Premier Grand Cru Classé Château Angélus, and bought it on the spot. Château Teyssier was born and Maltus wasted no time making waves in Bordeaux, cresting with the success of the highly revered Le Dôme.                  

So when Maltus moved to Napa, and particularly when he started crafting single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon off Stagecoach Vineyard, we were paying attention. WineAccess members who have followed our passion for single-vineyard Cabernet from elite perches overlooking the valley will be familiar with Stagecoach. Dr. Jan Krupp defied the naysayers, investors, and pessimistic geologists when he drilled down to a water source. Maybe it was the “water witch” he employed in his search for a hidden underground stream. But the fruit that would follow cast a spell over some of the winemakers we trust to know where to find the best grapes.

Who rules the roost amongst those using Stagecoach Vineyard? Only names like Caymus, Cardinale, Pahlmeyer, Bryant Family, Colgin, David Arthur, and Chappellet, to name a few. You might have also heard of the winemakers who have been seduced by the Sobrante Loam soils and the volcanic rock of the substrata are equally well known: Titus, Mark Aubert, Bob Long, and Philippe Melka. We like how Melka has described what you’ll find up here: “Oakville sophistication with the extra intensity of a hillside.”

As we’ve learned over the years, each facing of Pritchard Hill is distinct, helping to explain the richness, concentration, and especially the variety of the mountain's Cabernet Sauvignons. At Colgin, the wines are deep, dark, and muscular, built for the long haul. Phil Titus’s Chappellet Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is ultra-rich but more pliant and supple than Colgin. Over at Bryant Family, the Cabernet is classically structured, richly textured, and sturdy. Maltus’s 2013 Pritchard Hill marries his deft touch in the cellars of Saint-Émilion with the opulence of Stagecoach Vineyard.

The World’s End “Stir It Up” Cabernet Sauvignon from Stagecoach Vineyard lit up the tasting room last week at HQ. Explosively aromatic upon opening, the 2013 boasted notes of mocha, pain grillé, and cedar. The attack is intensely opulent, packed full of concentrated black fruit laced with sumptuous tannins so indicative of Pritchard Hill. Lively acidity is harmoniously integrated to enhance freshness.

As we’ve now all read, Parker deemed the 2013 vintage in Napa Valley a “game changer” and the “finest vintage I have experienced in tasting North Coast varietals over the last 37 years.” While 2013 was another drought year, yields remained above average. Spring saw early bud break, followed by even temperatures throughout the summer months. Harvest started on August 9th, the earliest in 25 years. Growers carefully monitored sugar levels as hang-time in some areas was extensive. Most winemakers described 2013 as epic, especially those drawing fruit from the southwestern-facing slopes of Stagecoach Vineyard.

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate called this single-vineyard Cabernet “impressively well-endowed, pure, tannic and built for the long-haul.” The Advocate gave it 92+ points and expects its peak to last another 25 years! James Suckling was even more impressed, lobbing on 95 points for this “pure and beautiful red.”

Released for $125 a bottle. A much more modest $85/bottle via WineAccess for a taste of Stagecoach Vineyard on Pritchard Hill from the epic 2013 vintage. Only 300 bottles available. Shipping included on 3.