Screaming Eagle 2013 | Cult Wines Offer

Estate Overview

If any wine exemplifies the California cult wine phenomenon, it's Screaming Eagle, a wine brand synonymous with consistent, near-perfect critic scores, high prices, tremendous demand and, of course, short supply. As it stands, it is the most expensive American wine however the most critically acclaimed, the lack of availability in the market is astonishing. All 800 cases produced annually go to the lucky recipients at the top of a long queue of subscribers. It is nearly impossible to secure older vintages and the most globally sought after U.S wine.

The 57-acre vineyard was purchased by original owner, founder and former real estate agent Jean Phillips, in 1986. At the time, the estate was planted with a mix of varieties, most of which Phillips sold to other Napa wineries - but not all. One single acre, home to around 80 vines of Cabernet Sauvignon , piqued her interest, and she sought the opinions of Robert Mondavi's employees on the commercial potential of a wine made from these vines.

'Potential', it seems, was something of an understatement: the 1992 vintage, released in 1995, received a 99-point score from Parker. At the time Phillips sold this vintage for $125 per bottle, and even then it was regarded as the most expensive wine produced in California! As the positive reviews flooded in and further fantastic vintages were produced, prices climbed higher and higher, and vintages continued to sell out.

In 2006, Phillips sold the estate to Charles Banks and Stanley Kroenke after they allegedly made her an offer she couldn't refuse. The sale is rumoured to have cost around $30m, but many speculate the figure was even higher. Three years later, Banks left to pursue other viniculture challenges, leaving Kroenke as the sole proprietor.

Investment Analysis

While most of Europe struggled in 2013, California excelled. With current market sentiment as strong as we can recall for U.S. wines, it is no surprise that the top-tier of producers are in very high demand. In Liv-ex's 2015 Power 100 list, it was two wines from Napa that witnessed the highest year-on-year performance: Scarecrow (19.9%) and Screaming Eagle (15.1%). As buyer diversification continues, California is on a roll and is a worthy consideration for any wine collector/investor.

Robert Parker on the 2013 vintage

'2012 was a great vintage for nearly every varietal in North Coast California, but what is even more remarkable is that 2013 may turn out to be the finest vintage I have experienced in tasting North Coast varietals over the last 37 years.'

'This could turn out to be one of the most epic and awesome vintages the North Coast of California has ever produced. The wines are more tightly coiled and present themselves with more closed personalities than their 2012 counterparts, but they are by no means inaccessible. They are powerful, rich and concentrated, extremely well-delineated, and will be extremely long-lived, eclipsing even the aging potential of the 2012s.'

It is intriguing that Parker mentioned the 2013s are 'more closed' than the 2012s, suggesting that they will improve significantly with age, and in time this improvement may well be reflected in the 2013 boasting the estates 5th 100pt wine.

Tasting Notes

As you can see from above the wine was originally scored (98-100) and finally given a rating of 97+, but there is clearly potential for that to be upgraded, and you wouldn't rule out the wine being given 100 points based on the overall quality of the 2013 vintage and the track record for Screaming Eagle.

The table below demonstrates the value the 2013 offers against its predecessors, and also tracks the 2 year and 5 year performance of the last 23 vintages.

Summary

A titan of a wine, the wine is not about power (as it name might suggest) but elegance and purity.
California continues to excel and 2013 is regarded as the best effort of the past decade.
Potential 100pt wine, currently rated at 97+pts.
Tiny production levels - make this one of the most over-subscribed wines in the world.
Highest average score of 97.5pts since first vintage.
Recommended hold of 5-7 years with a significant upside over this term.