Pott Actaeon Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap 2016

This is a real blockbuster Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has a distinct purity with deftly textured tannins formed from the ancient sandstone soils. The layers here are intense and stay with you for ages. There is a very small percentage of Cabernet Franc that lifts the mid palate and brightens the complex aromatics with blue fruits and cedar cigar box.

Incubo began as a tiny, 12 case cuvee that Aaron made from the 1/2 acre vineyard that was already planted on our property when we bought it in 2004. Over time we expanded the vineyards to almost 5 acres, and Incubo grew to around 80 cases. The name derives from a mythical creature supposed to guard a hoarde of treasure. The dragon symbol is in fact the signature of a medieval painter named Lucas Cranach, who often depicted wine and merry-making in his work.

Stags Leap District, in California’s Napa Valley wine region, is home to some of the United States’ most famous and highly regarded wineries. The vineyards here are overwhelmingly dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. This makes rich red wines combining ripe blackcurrant flavors, a certain freshness and elegance, and well-structured tannins.

The area’s reputation has grown steadily since the 1970s, when a Cabernet Sauvignon wine made by Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was named the top red wine in the landmark Judgment of Paris tasting. In doing so it beat out the likes of Chteau Mouton Rothschild and Chteau Haut-Brion.

Often synonymous Bordeaux wine blends and the Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon is found worldwide in no small part due to its prized combination of black fruit aromas, structural tannins, and fresh acidity.

Critical Acclaim

93 Wine Advocate

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Actaeon Quixote Vineyard (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) is medium to deep garnet-purple colored and opens with camphor and wild thyme scents over a core of redcurrant jelly, kirsch and crushed blackcurrants with a waft of unsmoked cigars. The palate is medium to full-bodied, firm and wonderfully accented with ripe, grainy tannins texturing the generous layers, finishing on a minty note.

92 Vinous

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Actaeon is powerful and richly textured in the glass. There is plenty of depth and persistence to the dark cherry and plum fruit, but next to the other wines in the range, the Actaeon is quite reticent. I don’t see that as a bad thing necessarily, just something readers should keep in mind with this Stags Leap Cabernet.