Screaming Eagle is the wine that defined the term Napa cult Cabernet. Made in tiny quantities from a small Oakville vineyard, it became one of the most expensive and difficult to buy wines in the world almost overnight.

One acre in Oakville

Jean Phillips, a former real estate agent, bought a 57 acre vineyard in Oakville in 1986. The land was planted to a mix of varieties, most of which she sold off to neighboring wineries. She kept a single acre of Cabernet Sauvignon, roughly eighty vines, and from that small block she would make a wine that changed everything.

The 1992 that started a frenzy

The first Screaming Eagle, the 1992 vintage, was released in 1995. Critic Robert Parker awarded it 99 points, and with production measured in only a few hundred cases, demand instantly outstripped supply. At the 2000 Napa Valley charity auction a single large format bottle sold for 500,000 dollars, still one of the highest prices ever paid for a bottle of wine. The wine had become a symbol of Napa new ambition.

The modern estate

In 2006 Screaming Eagle was sold to billionaire Stan Kroenke. Winemaker Nick Gislason, who came from Harlan Estate, has led the cellar since around 2011, with Michel Rolland consulting. The wine remains allocation only, sold through a tightly controlled mailing list rather than in stores, and the estate is not open to the public. Scarcity, precision, and a near mythical reputation keep it at the very top of the Napa hierarchy.

What to pour it with

Screaming Eagle is a special occasion wine, polished and deeply concentrated. When a bottle does appear, keep the food simple and let the wine lead, a clean cut of beef tenderloin or a quiet plate of aged cheese. Decant with care.

Common questions