Stags' Leap The Investor Red Napa Valley 2020

“The Investor” – feels like there should be a movie “dun, dun, dun” sound effect whenever you pop open a bottle, doesn’t it? The intensity of the name absolutely DOES live up to the hype and intensity of the wine, with Wine Enthusiast aptly granting it a hearty 97 points AND a Top 100 Cellar Selection designation! Plus, it made James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of 2022...and, for the next 48 hours, you can get some for over 50% off! This is the sort of happy ending even the movies couldn’t write.

We may not know who the secretive investor is, but we do know for a fact how quickly the bottle disappears after opening it (just ask our team of buyers/tasters). Thoughtfully, 40% merlot, 30% petite sirah, 20% cabernet sauvignon, and 10% malbec make up this lovely, decadent, powerful, and beautifully harmonious blend from some of Napa Valley’s most vibrant and enriched appellations! We don’t have nearly enough to make the rounds to everyone, so if you’re feeling the itch to add to cart, it’s due time to scratch!

The fruit is a true amalgamation of multiple jaw-dropping sites across Napa Valley, some from other growers and some from Stags’ Leap’s own estate vineyards. While we all remember 2020 for a specific reason, here in Napa it was also marked by excessive warmth and, later in the harvest season, destructive wildfires making their way across the state. Many producers had small lots that were thankfully out of harm’s way, ensuring that the grapes that made it to this production were still of the utmost quality. Those that made the cut were magnificently ripe and juicy, with full-fruit flavors and brilliant complexity. The fruit here was separated by variety, fermented, and aged on oak for 20 months before blending and bottling in 2022.

Wine Enthusiast’s top critic Jim Gordon doted, “Red blends of this type rarely shine as brightly...creamy in texture, it is laden in massive but melted tannins.” He’s not wrong – this is a roller-coaster of rich, hedonistic goodness, running the gamut of succulent red raspberries and cherries before turning to a more brooding essence of intense blackberry, black plum, and boysenberry pie magic. Rich as can be, velvety smooth, mouth-coating, and soul-fulfilling – it’s got all you could want in a red wine, and then some! Polished off with spicy oak and mocha notes, this is an undeniable, no-questions-gotta-have-it bottle, especially if you love Napa blends with serious pedigree, tons of praise, and for half off the normal price-tag! Make your move before our limited numbers fly off the shelves!

PAIRING IDEAS: A bottle of wine fit for your best group of pals calls for an equally celebratory meal – this rich, coffee-rubbed Santa Maria tri-tip with a side of heirloom tomato and cucumber salad is the dreamiest sidekick to the Investor.