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Screaming Eagle is California's original and most sought after cult wine in the world. Produced in tiny quantities from a small vineyard in Napa's Oakville appellation, the Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine regularly sells for upwards of $3000 plus a bottle and is America's most expensive regularly produced wine.
Jean Phillips established the vineyards in 1986, and set about selling fruit to local producers in Napa. After a few years, the decision was made to set up a winery, and the first vintage of Screaming Eagle was released in 1992. Robert Parker rated this first vintage at 99 points, and cult status was sealed – since then, the 1997 and 2007 vintages have achieved the coveted 100-point rating from the famous wine critic. Sales are done from the winery through a mailing list, which has been full since 2000 – and there is a waiting list several thousand names long.
Screaming Eagle's vineyard lies within the Oakville AVA in the southern part of Napa Valley. It is planted mainly to Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and a small plot of Sauvignon Blanc. Screaming Eagle's second wine, Second Flight, is made from the vineyard's younger vines, and a white wine, the Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc, was introduced in 2012. Although sold initially for $250 a bottle in 2012, this wine quickly reached astronomical prices on the secondary market as well, up to 10 times the release price.
In 2006, Screaming Eagle was famously sold to Stanley Kroenke and Charles Banks for an undisclosed sum, rumored to be upwards of $30 million. Nowadays Kroenke owns Screaming Eagle outright.
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 1997 |
| Rating | 100 RP |
| Bottle Size | 750 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Location | North Coast |
| Producer | Screaming Eagle |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type | Table |
| Robert Parker | 100 RP - The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon (500 cases) has more in common with the 1995 and 1992 than the 1996 or 1994. The opaque purple/black color is followed by intense soaring aromas of creme de cassis in addition to blueberry and blackberry fruit. The wine's extraordinary purity great depth and fabulously seamless full-bodied multi-layered texture are something to behold particularly in a wine so young. However everything is in balance. This is another work of art from an extraordinary terroir. The wine should be uncommonly approachable at release given its voluptuous texture but it possesses the richness and overall equilibrium to age well for 20-25 years. As I have tried so hard to articulate in past reviews what makes these wines so stunning is the black currant/cassis fruit. Screaming Eagle may be the most extravagantly pure and rich expression of cassis one can find ... short of drinking cassis liqueur. There is an unbelievable purity to these wines as well as phenomenal concentration and richness yet in no sense are they heavy ponderous or out of balance. |
|---|
| Wine Spectator |
|---|
| Burghound |
|---|
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 1997 |
| Rating | 100 RP |
| Barrels |
New French Oak |
| Style |
Cabernet |
| Owners |
Jean Phillips |
| Region | California |
| Location | North Coast |
| Producer | Screaming Eagle |
| Winemaker |
Heidi Barrett |
| Production |
500 cases |
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 1997 |
| Rating | 100 RP |
| Bottle Size | 750 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Location | North Coast |
| Producer | Screaming Eagle |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type | Table |
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 1997 |
| Rating | 100 RP |
| Barrels |
New French Oak |
| Style |
Cabernet |
| Owners |
Jean Phillips |
| Region | California |
| Location | North Coast |
| Producer | Screaming Eagle |
| Winemaker |
Heidi Barrett |
| Production |
500 cases |
| Robert Parker Rating | 100 RP - The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon (500 cases) has more in common with the 1995 and 1992 than the 1996 or 1994. The opaque purple/black color is followed by intense soaring aromas of creme de cassis in addition to blueberry and blackberry fruit. The wine's extraordinary purity great depth and fabulously seamless full-bodied multi-layered texture are something to behold particularly in a wine so young. However everything is in balance. This is another work of art from an extraordinary terroir. The wine should be uncommonly approachable at release given its voluptuous texture but it possesses the richness and overall equilibrium to age well for 20-25 years. As I have tried so hard to articulate in past reviews what makes these wines so stunning is the black currant/cassis fruit. Screaming Eagle may be the most extravagantly pure and rich expression of cassis one can find ... short of drinking cassis liqueur. There is an unbelievable purity to these wines as well as phenomenal concentration and richness yet in no sense are they heavy ponderous or out of balance. |
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| Antonio Galloni Rating |
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| Wine Spectator Rating |
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| Burghound Rating |
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