1996 Robert Sinskey RSV Vineyard Stags Leap District Claret

Robert Sinskey is in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. It was founded in 1986 by Robert Sinskey, an eye physician with a passion for Pinot Noir and an interest in growing grapes. He became a limited partner in Acacia Winery, then bought 115 acres of his own and started making his own wine. Today the estate is run by Sinskey’s son Rob and includes nearly 150 acres. The estate grows a wide variety of grapes ranging from Pinot Banc and Pinot Gris to Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Besides producing well-reviewed Pinot Noir, the estate makes many red and white blends.

Stags Leap District AVA in southern Napa Valley has a storied history. It is home to Stag’s Leap Cellars, whose 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon won the famous Judgment of Paris blind tasting that included several of Bordeaux’s most exalted First Growths. Vineyards were started in area in the late 19th century, but the district’s rise in prestige started in the late 1960s when Nathan Fay planted Cabernet Sauvignon. Fay later sold his estate to Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag’s Leap Cellars. The district was given its own AVA designation in 1989, and today there are 1,400 vineyard acres. The AVA is especially notable because it was the first in the U.S. to be granted AVA status based on terroir. Its distinctive soils is a mix of volcanic soils, river sediment and loamy clay-like soil. Because the soils don’t retain water well, vineyards in Stag’s Leap tend to grow fruit with great intensity and flavor. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for 95% of the grapes planted in Stags Leap.