2018 Carl Roy East Side Cuvee Stags Leap District 750 ml

In 2013, while dining at Jean-Georges at 1 Central Park West, we were introduced to a beautifully chiseled Napa Valley Cabernet called Carl Roy East Side Cuvée, drawn from vineyards, the sommelier said, “just outside the Stags Leap line.”  

In the next four vintages, this superb Napa Valley boutique winery continued to excel, turning out a series of black-fruited Cabernets that mimicked the classic structure of Stags Leap. But, with this new release, drawn entirely from a small east-west-planted parcel in the most coveted quadrant of Stags Leap, the 2018 East Side Cuvée isn’t “a stone’s throw away” any more.

The 2018 Carl Roy East Side Cuvée Stags Leap AVA is a coup—both for the winery and for Wine Access members. Glistening dark purple to the edge, infused with high-toned aromas of blackberry, cassis, raspberry, and anise, plush and juicy on the attack, finishing with the soft tannin backbone for which Napa Valley’s tiniest and most historically significant AVA is so well known. 

As compared to $100 per bottle for wines drawn from the same parcel. Just $35 on Wine Access for a fortunate few. Total production of 1,000 cases, 250 of which are now up for grabs. 

In the spring of 1976, highly respected British wine merchant Stephen Spurrier organized and promoted a blind tasting in Paris that pitted France’s greatest wines against their upstart American counterparts. Dubbed the Judgement of Paris, eleven judges were chosen, nine of whom were French, including restaurateur Jean-Claude Vrinat of Taillevent and Aubert de Villaine, co-owner of Domaine de la Romanée Conti.  

Almost immediately after the ballots were counted, journalist George Taber of TIME magazine made the results public to the world. Winemaker Warren Winiarski’s 1973 Stag’s Leap—a richly textured, yet brilliantly honed Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon—ran away from the field, outpointing the likes of 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild, Montrose, and Haut Brion!  

On the heels of the Judgment of Paris results, and spearheaded by a series of beautifully sculpted Cabernets crafted by Winiarski and Clos du Val’s Bernard Portet, the Stags Leap land grab began. For those without sufficiently deep pockets or quick reflexes, the doors to the precious volcanic soils of Napa Valley’s tiniest and most coveted AVA were closed.  

As to boutique upstarts like Carl Roy, working with vineyards a “stone’s throw” away was as close as a winemaker could hope to get to Stags Leap. Or so it was thought until the miraculous 2018 growing season led to a rare harvest that featured both extraordinary quality and quantity. 

For the first time in recent memory, a few rows of Cabernet in the prized southern quadrant of prized Stags Leap were offered to the highest bidder. Some tried to be crafty, putting in lowball bids. Not Carl Roy, which quickly accepted the asking price, grabbing every small-berry bunch