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Stag's Leap Wine Cellars ARTEMIS Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
RedUnited States2016
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-12-05 · Published 2026-09-14 · Updated 2026-09-14
At a glance
In one line
4.5/5 — higher than Vivino's 4.4 average · world avg price US$216 · The entry label from the winery that beat Bordeaux at the 1976 Judgment of Paris.
Critics listed on Vivino: 92 (Oct 2018) · 93 (May 2020) · 92 (May 2020) — outlet not named
Market note: Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' lineup runs from the entry-level Artemis (a blend across Napa Valley vineyards) up to the single-vineyard Fay and S.L.V., topped by the flagship blend Cask 23. Artemis 2016's 4.4 is a touch below the 2017 and 2018 vintages (4.5) but matches the label's overall average.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Vanilla good.”
What I learned today: the highest star of a night doesn't always come from a house's top shelf.
Thursday, snow fell from the afternoon. When I arrived at seven, the alley in front of the bar was white. Before switching on the sign, Master Seo and I cleared the snow from the door. He with the snow pusher, me with the broom. So the customers wouldn't slip, we cut a single path from the door to the mouth of the alley.
Coming inside, my fingertips stung. Master Seo slid a glass of red toward me. Before I even put my nose to it, vanilla arrived. Vanilla smelled with a frozen nose was strangely warm. Behind it, blackberry, chocolate, tobacco.
That warm vanilla called up a night. Early December when I was twenty-one, a Thursday night when sleet stuck to the window and melted. That night four cloth-wrapped bottles came to the table one after another. Putting my nose to the glass from the second bottle, I said, "It smells like ice cream!" Instead of answering, Father only lifted the corners of his mouth and smelled his own glass once more. It was the glass he held longest that night. I don't know the bottle's name.
The note is two words: "Vanilla good." Four and a half stars, the highest of that night's four. The bottle was Stags' Leap Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon. Master Seo said it's the most approachable bottle from the house that took first place for reds at the Judgment of Paris. I stuck a wine-name Post-it into the notebook. Maybe Father's "good" was also his answer to my ice cream.
When I went out again at closing, a thin layer of new snow had settled on the path we'd cleared. What I learned today: the highest star of a night doesn't always come from a house's top shelf.
What this wine is
On May 24, 1976, in Paris, British wine merchant Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher organized a blind tasting to mark the American Bicentennial: nine French judges scored California Cabernets against Bordeaux first growths, and California Chardonnays against white Burgundy. The winning red was Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' 1973 S.L.V. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, beating Mouton Rothschild, Haut-Brion and other Bordeaux royalty. The result became known as the Judgment of Paris and put Napa Valley on the world wine map. The winery was founded in 1970 by Warren Winiarski.
Artemis is the house's entry-level label, sitting below the single-vineyard Fay and S.L.V. and the flagship blend Cask 23. It's built from grapes across multiple Napa Valley vineyards. The 2016 vintage is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a small amount of other Bordeaux varieties, aged 16 months in oak, at 13.5% alcohol. The producer describes its winemaking as aiming to let the estate vineyards' sense of place come through in aroma, flavor and texture.
What the world says
I couldn't find a formal review of the 2016 Artemis from a named outlet. Vivino does list three critic scores without naming the source: 92 (Oct 2018), 93 (May 2020) and 92 (May 2020). The outlet is unknown, but all three cluster in the low-to-mid 90s — evidence that Artemis, even as an entry label, scores reliably well.
The Vivino community of 10,622 averages 4.4, with 92% at 4 stars or above — among the most consistently high-rated wines covered in this magazine. Keywords lead heavily with oak, vanilla, chocolate and tobacco (6,341 mentions), then blackberry and plum (5,006), then leather, earth and smoke (2,099). Structurally, intensity is 4.7/5, tannin 3.3, acidity 3.4 — powerful and well balanced. The vintage average has barely moved in nearly 30 years, sitting between 4.2 and 4.6 since 1994, peaking at 4.5 in 2017 and 2018.
"Creamy milk chocolate and raspberry yogurt on the nose with a kiss of smoky white pepper. Lighter than your usual 'big cab' on the palate, with distinct sweet candied cherry and raw dark cocoa tannins." — Vivino review, Feb 2019, 4.5 stars
How I drank it
December 5, 2019, 4.5 stars. The note is "Vanilla good."
Four bottles that day: Napa by N.A.P.A. Michael's Red 2015 (4), this Artemis (4.5), Montes Limited Selection Cabernet Sauvignon–Carmenère 2017 (3.5) and Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (3.5). Artemis topped the group.
Stag's Leap comes up exactly once more in my log: on May 15, 2026, I gave S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 4.5 stars — the very label that won the Judgment of Paris, a different vintage. I gave the entry-level Artemis (4.5) and the top single-vineyard S.L.V. (4.5) the same score.
My 4.5 sits almost exactly on the 2016 vintage's community average of 4.4, and points the same direction as the Vivino-listed critic scores in the low-to-mid 90s. Of every wine in this magazine so far, this is the closest my score, the community and the critics have all agreed.
Vivino community data
2016 vintage rating distribution (10622 ratings, average 4.4)
| 5★ | 3355 (32%) | |
| 4★ | 6466 (61%) | |
| 3★ | 663 (6%) | |
| 2★ | 63 (1%) | |
| 1★ | 75 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 6341 | oak 2137 · vanilla 1508 · chocolate 845 · tobacco 511 · cedar 266 |
| Black fruit | 5006 | blackberry 1358 · plum 1013 · dark fruit 620 · black cherry 431 · blackcurrant 362 |
| Earth & leather | 2099 | leather 759 · earthy 422 · smoke 323 · cocoa 159 · minerals 61 |
| Red fruit | 1704 | cherry 1026 · raspberry 238 · red fruit 220 · strawberry 79 · cranberry 38 |
| Spice | 1092 | pepper 413 · licorice 200 · cinnamon 92 · mint 74 · eucalyptus 40 |
| Microbio | 221 | cream 93 · cheese 87 · yogurt 12 · oil 7 · banana 6 |
| Dried fruit | 181 | prune 53 · fig 50 · raisin 40 · dried fruit 24 |
Structure: Acidity 3.4/5 · Intensity 4.7/5 · Tannin 3.3/5 · Sweetness 1.6/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 98415 ratings, average 4.4)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 4.5 | 35 |
| 1997 | 4.3 | 41 |
| 2000 | 4.6 | 35 |
| 2001 | 4.5 | 112 |
| 2002 | 4.3 | 102 |
| 2003 | 4.3 | 150 |
| 2004 | 4.3 | 201 |
| 2005 | 4.3 | 599 |
| 2006 | 4.3 | 491 |
| 2007 | 4.3 | 1217 |
| 2008 | 4.3 | 752 |
| 2009 | 4.3 | 1602 |
| 2010 | 4.2 | 3815 |
| 2011 | 4.2 | 3891 |
| 2012 | 4.3 | 6564 |
| 2013 | 4.3 | 6568 |
| 2014 | 4.4 | 8918 |
| 2015 | 4.4 | 7553 |
| 2016 | 4.4 | 10622 |
| 2017 | 4.5 | 8027 |
| 2018 | 4.5 | 10073 |
| 2019 | 4.4 | 7350 |
| 2020 | 4.4 | 5104 |
| 2021 | 4.3 | 4050 |
| 2022 | 4.3 | 1457 |
| 2023 | 4.3 | 67 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Stag's Leap ARTEMIS Cabernet Sauvignon?
A very full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon from Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley. An entry-level label blended from grapes across multiple Napa Valley vineyards, aged 16 months in oak at 13.5% alcohol. A dense style of blackberry, vanilla, chocolate and tobacco; Vivino 4.4 (2016 vintage, 10,622 ratings), with Vivino-listed critic scores of 92–93.
What was the Judgment of Paris?
A blind tasting organized in Paris in 1976 by British merchant Steven Spurrier, where French judges scored California wines against French first growths. In the red category, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet beat Mouton Rothschild and Haut-Brion, putting Napa Valley on the world wine map.
How much does it cost?
US$216 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, 2016 vintage, remaining stock, Aug 2026).
How does Artemis differ from S.L.V., Fay and Cask 23?
Artemis is a blend across multiple Napa Valley vineyards and the entry point into the range; Fay and S.L.V. are single-vineyard labels a tier up, and Cask 23 is the top blend, selected across vineyards. The Judgment of Paris winner was the 1973 S.L.V.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page, community data and listed critic scores
- Stag's Leap Wine Cellars official site — 1976 Judgment of Paris
- Wikipedia — Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (founding, history)
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