Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Another perfect wine is the 2012 Screaming Eagle which checks in as 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. While just as good as the 2013, it’s made in a very different style and has a lush, opulent, sexy profile as well as the hallmark crème de cassis, white flowers, graphite and spice. With a silky, full-bodied, seamless texture, incredible complexity, ultra-fine tannin, and blockbuster length, this quintessential Screaming Eagle will continue drinking beautifully for 20-25 years.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The grand vin 2013 Screaming Eagle is pure perfection in a glass and has everything you could want from a wine. Possessing a Château Margaux-like perfume of crème de cassis, sandalwood, dried flowers/violets, and graphite, it’s full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, ultra-pure, and incredibly elegant, all of which is very much in the style of this iconic estate. There are plenty of tannins on the finish so this will ideally be given another 3-4 years of bottle age, but it should keep for 25-30 years.

James Suckling (100)

The subtle and nuanced aromas to this are so enticing with perfumed, floral, blackcurrant and blackberry character. Roses, too. Some lavender. Full-bodied yet so refined and polished with the most transparent and polished texture. Firm and seamless. So beautiful now. Give it three or four years to come around, but this already sings.

Wine Advocate (100)

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Screaming Eagle soars out of the glass with vibrant notions of ripe blackberries, black cherries and fresh red and black currants plus wafts of licorice, candied violets, cedar chest and clove oil with a beguiling touch of sea spray. Medium-bodied with jaw-dropping elegance, the palate is finely textured and yet built like a brick house with a super taut backbone and exquisitely knit acidity. The intense black and red fruit flavors are accented by layers of mineral and floral notions, finishing with incredible length and depth. Undeniably stunning. “I loved it!” winemaker Nick Gislason told me when I asked him for his thoughts on the 2018 vintage. “Everything is just really perfumey with a lot of verve and a lot of freshness. It’s a wholesome vintage, if that makes sense? The canopies were big and healthy; there was a lot of life in the vineyard. After 2017, it felt like the bloom that comes afterward.” He went on to say, "We made a little 2017 red. Only four barrels of the Cab! Ten barrels of The Flight. Only from grapes that came in before the fires—mainly Merlot and a couple of blocks of Cabernet." Whereas Screaming Eagle is mainly sourced from Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the western side of the estate, there is one plot of old Merlot (1980s plantings) on the eastern side of the vineyard that continually makes the backbone of this Second Flight/The Flight. This is planted on very gravelly, well-drained soils. Gislason explained, “The Cabernet Sauvignon for The Flight is always about being fresh, light and perfumey, without the firmer tannins that Cabernet can sometimes give. There is a ‘fresh’ end of the property that this tends to come from. There is some other Merlot on the other side of the property that doesn’t have the acidity, perfume or brightness we’re looking for. We don’t use this in The Flight.”

Vinous (100)

The 2019 Screaming Eagle is a wine of mind-blowing elegance and finesse that stand apart from the generally more potent style of so many wines in this vintage. Deep, sensual and beautifully layered, the 2019 is simply magnificent from the very first taste. A whole range of red/purplish fruit, spice, leather, dried herb and blood orange accents give the 2019 its vivid, wonderfully detailed personality. Because of its price, both on release and in the secondary market, Screaming Eagle is the most talked about wine in Napa Valley. It is hype or not? All I can say is that I was very fortunate to drink a number of older vintages during lockdown and all those wines lived up to their reputations.

James Suckling (99)

Fabulous aromas of cabernet sauvignon with blackcurrants, blueberries, bark, fresh mushrooms and violets, follow through to a full body with an elegance that builds at the finish, leaving you with a freshness and minerality that goes on for minutes. Unique wine in so many ways. A blend of 76% cabernet sauvignon, 18% merlot and 6% cabernet franc. Best after 2028.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2021 Screaming Eagle soars on the strengths of the vintage—concentration and structure—taking them to the highest peak of wine quality. Dark and concentrated, this medium- to full-bodied wine is sturdy and tannic, yet it delivers waves of black cherries and cassis, melded together into a solid core of fruit that's never hard or astringent, just impressively rich, velvety and incredibly long-lasting on the finish. If one were capable of and willing to spend $100 per ounce for wine—approximately what you might pay on the secondary market for this tour de force—I doubt you would be disappointed.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2017 Sauvignon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, coming from a small section of estate vines closer to the Napa river. It is entirely fermented in French oak, but only about 5% is new. The grapes are pressed straight to barrels and kept on their gross lees. The wine is fermented using native yeasts. This vintage, the nose is not at all shy—it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant scents of ripe peaches, passion fruit and musk perfume plus wafts of honeycomb, elderflower, ripe gooseberries and lemongrass with a waft of Bosc pears. The palate is super intense and yet ethereally weighted, light-bodied and oh-so-fine, elegant and refreshing, featuring a whole array of chalk and sea spray sparks, creating a shimmer to all the many citrus and stone fruit layers, finishing with great length and energy. There is a truly interesting phenolic texture to the palate that reminds me of some Chardonnays, particularly Burgundian examples. Winemaker Nick Gislason commented that the gross lees contain a lot of phenolic content, which is where the wine picks up that textural component. Love it!

Vinous (94)

A dark, voluptuous beauty, the 2011 Second Flight is laced with plum, grilled herbs, tobacco, smoke, violets and graphite. The style is cool, savory and precise, perhaps with a bit less body than normal, but with plenty of energy, finesse and balance. Simply put, this is a magnificent showing.

Vinous (94+)

The 2012 Second Flight kicks things up a notch. Dense, layered and voluptuous in the glass, the Second Flight impresses for its breadth and volume. Although only recently bottled, the 2012 nevertheless shows superb depth and tons of pure personality.

Vinous (94)

The 2014 Second Flight bristles with all the energy and tension that is such a signature of the vintage. Dark flavors abound, with plenty of black cherry, mocha, espresso and graphite overtones layered throughout. The 2014 is an especially muscular, brooding Second Flight. Accordingly, it is likely to require at least a few years to come into its own. The juiciness of the Merlot gives the wine its center of fruit and overall palate feel, but the Second Flight is also quite closed down today, most likely because of its recent bottling. Tasted alongside the flagship Screaming Eagle, Second Flight seems more affected by the bottling, but that is not all that unusual for Merlot-based wines, especially in this vintage.

James Suckling (98)

This is very tight grained and beautifully balanced with violets, crushed stones and a brambleberry character. Extremely aromatic and perfumed. Medium to full body with a compressed mouthfeel of wonderfully fine and fresh tannins. A fantastic merlot-based red for the vintage. Structured yet so balanced. Beautiful now but better in 2021.

James Suckling (99)

This is the best Flight I have ever had with so much merlot character coming through with black olives, hazelnuts, brown sugar and blackberries, as well as violets. Full-bodied yet linear and very long. Extremely refined and fresh. Needs a few years to come completely together, but already so refined.

James Suckling (100)

This is an incredible wine with such depth and energy and ethereal, mind-blowing sensibility. It sent shivers down my spine tasting it. It just shines on the nose, like bright sunlight breaking through a dark sky. Aromas of raspberries, citrus, violets and dark earth. Full-bodied with extremely fine tannins that go vertical and endless, from top to bottom. A monument for merlot-based wines. Drinkable now, but needs six to eight years to come around.

James Suckling (99)

Extremely floral and aromatic with violets and lavender throughout. Black olives, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, very fine-grained tannins that run the length of the wine. Goes on for minutes. A greenish undertone comes out at the end with some spearmint, green tea and green olive. About two-thirds merlot. Best after 2028, but already stunning.

Wine Advocate (96)

Screaming Eagle's 2021 The Flight seems darker and more concentrated than the 2023, with mixed red and black cherries framed by tannins that are firm yet not lacking ripeness. It's medium- to full-bodied, with an expansive mouthfeel that remains balanced and impressively focused on the long, lingering finish. It's mostly Merlot, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc making up the balance.

Vinous (93+)

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is striking. Silky, nuanced and exceptionally polished, the 2012 possesses notable purity, with gorgeous aromatics and notable energy. Hints of anise, savory herbs, iron, smoke and tobacco develop in the glass, but the flavors remain quite primary. This is a rare 2012 that is going to need time to fully come together. A dollop of Petit Verdot rounds out the blend. Today, the Estate is not as exuberant as it was last year, most likely the result of its recent bottling.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is the first of these back-to-back perfect wines from Shafer that, at age 13, is still a baby, but, wow, what an amazing wine. A fabulous growing season produced a wine with inky/purple black color, stunning crème de cassis notes, with additional hints of lead pencil shavings, spring flowers, cedar wood and forest floor. It is full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, with a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol. This is a great, monumental Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that is still an infant, at age 13, going on 14. This has got at least three decades of life left in it, and probably won’t hit its peak for another 5-7 years.

Wine Enthusiast (100)

A perfect score has to be considered in the context of its region. Shafer's 2004 Hillside Select is tremendous as a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that competes with its peers at the highest levels. It's always a fabulous wine, but in warm 2004, Shafer's amphitheater vineyard sheltered the grapes, ripening them to perfection yet protecting the "iron fist in a velvet glove" structure that André Tchelistcheff defined as Stags Leap. This 100% Cabernet is tremendous in cassis, black currant and mocha flavors, and the 100% new French oak provides perfect additions of smoke and caramel. It's soft and gorgeous enough to drink now, and should age well in a cool cellar for the next 20 years.