2005 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Artemis

A few nights ago, our friends invited us for dinner at their home. When we got there, our friend poured us this glass of red wine and asked if we noticed any flaws in the wine. He mentioned that he opened and decanted the wine an hour prior to our arrival and since the cork crumbled, he had to use a funnel and filter to pour us a taste of this wine. Neither my husband nor I noticed any flaws, I did feel, however, that the mid-palate seeemed to drop out and then finish with a punch of tannins. Once our friend heard that we didn't think that there were any flaws, he told us that we were tasting a 2005 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Artemis. It was the first time that my husband and I have tasted a wine made by Warren Winiarski! Warren Winiarski gained notoriety (in a great way) when his 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon was the winner in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Our friend made a meal of stuffed eggplant, tzatziki and Greek salad to pair with the wine. The Greek food was an inspired pairing with the Artemis. As the evening progressed the wine opened up and the aroma from the Artemis was like a perfume and the wine became smooth from beginning to end.
We had a wonderful evening. I thought about the role of wine in a gathering and to me, it's really about how a dinner can be transformed into a magical evening that can create a lasting memory!

Vintage 2026: Harvest Might be Just Around the Corner

We have been busy urfurling our nets over our grapes to protect them from the birds. So far, since we noticed the Auxerrois softening, we have managed to net just about half of the vineyard with another half to go. Fortunately, this will be the Chenin blanc, which for some reason is the last to reach veraison.
Here are our red varieties:

When we took one of the dark purple berries from the Cabernet sauvignon, the Brix was already at 16!
It's time to update the Annual Cycle of Growth chart:

So far, veraison seems to be similar to what it was in 2025. In a typical year, the first grape variety that we harvest is the Auxerrois followed by the Chardonnay. We believe that this will hold true this year.
Today is a rain day but the weather looks good tomorrow, so it will be back in the vineyard to unfurl more nets!