2023 Word Choice Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

When we received an email from an iconic Stags Leap winery known for being tight-lipped, we ate it up like a John Grisham thriller.

“Place, time, talent, and conditions aligned like never before in our decades-long history in 2023,” the founder wrote in a signed email. “It’s a supernova vintage, producing Cabernets that are impeccably fresh and astoundingly pure, with all the necessary structure for long-term aging. We’ve been dipping into our archives—2018, 2016, even 1999—looking for a precedent. We’re ready to say it: vintage of the century is not far-fetched.”

It’s one thing for a winery to hype its own stash. But when a prominent wine critic also described this estate’s recent bottling as “jaw-droppers,” we didn’t wait to pick up the phone and commence deal-making.

This winery’s flagship Cabernet blend, hailing from hillsides above the Silverado Trail, retails for upwards of $350. Even our negotiating skills aren’t good enough to get that exact cuvée bottled in a private label. But what we have achieved is something similarly special: a stunning facsimile of this famous house’s Stags Leap style, crafted by their 100-point-winning team.

In 2023, this winery went all-in on estate fruit. The winemaker had been refining vineyard management techniques in recent years—inching down alcohol levels, leaving more foliage over the grapes to reduce sun levels. 2023 provided the perfect opportunity to showcase this work.

That opened a window of opportunity for us. This 2023 Word Choice contains the estate fruit that others pay three figures for, as well as an assemblage of grapes that the winery contracted from other top estates throughout Napa, which usually goes into their own blends.