But like many great estates, the years
brought decline. After the Granges
passed, the property was abandoned—its
buildings boarded up, its vines le to the
wild. For nearly two decades, the house
stood empty, rumored to be occupied by
squatters and frequented by curious
locals. en, in 1970, Carl Doumani, a
Los Angeles restaurateur with a reverence
for history and an eye for potential,
entered the scene. Over nine years, he
meticulously restored the estate and
brought the winemaking operation back
to life, placing Stags' Leap on the map
with a following for its Petite Sirah.
Since 1996, under the stewardship of
Treasury Wine Estates, the legacy has
continued to evolve. A massive wine
cave has been carved into the Palisades,
mirroring the original 1893 cave but on
a more ambitious scale. An apothecary
garden, developed by Robert Brittan
and Jonathan Plant, cultivates herbs and
botanicals meant to mirror the aromas
and tasting notes found in the estate's
wines—a sensory experience rooted in
the land.
Stags' Leap is, at its core, a place of
stories of eras passed and reclaimed, of
crasmanship born from both patience
and passion. To walk the property—or
to taste from its cellar—is to feel the
presence of those who came before, and
the legacy that continues to unfold.
VUE ON | WINE
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