How Screaming Eagle Became a Cult Wine

As one of Napa Valley’s most coveted wines, a bottle of Screaming Eagle will set you back thousands of dollars. And if you want to avoid the price gouging of the secondary market, you might have to wait a decade to even join the formal waiting list, just for the chance to empty your pockets. But in a region filled with award-winning bottles, how exactly did this small producer gain its cult-level status?

The winery’s origins date back to the 1980s when talented local real estate agent Jean Phillips started acquiring high-quality vineyard plots across the Napa Valley. At first she sold grapes from the land to other winemakers in the area, but legend has it that Robert Mondavi — a prolific winemaker central to the history of Napa — advised Phillips to leave real estate and take the plunge into the wine business full time. Phillips brought on Heidi Barrett, the wife of Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena fame, as the winemaker, and produced the first vintage of Screaming Eagle in 1992.

The plots of land that Phillips had acquired for the wine are central to its lore. Grapes for this storied wine come from Napa’s prestigious Oakville sub-appellation on a site with particularly notable terroir: well-draining, rocky soils; sun-drenched, west-facing slopes; and cooling evening breezes from the San Pablo Bay. The area is planted to Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, and, of course, Cabernet Sauvignon. The brand’s flagship bottling is a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend from this special site.

It’s rare that you can trace the growth of a brand back to one distinct moment, but in the story of Screaming Eagle’s ascent to the skies that sentiment rings true. In 1995, esteemed wine critic Robert Parker awarded Screaming Eagle’s first release — the 1992 Cabernet blend — an impressive score of 99 points. This was in Parker’s heyday, when his word carried immense weight with wine buyers in the U.S. So when Parker gave this winery’s debut bottling a near-perfect score, it was immediately met with a resounding response.

The wine first hit the market at a hefty (but reasonable) retail price of $75 per bottle. But as the glowing reviews rolled in, the hype machine quickly ran up the prices. And the winery has only gained more steam since then, earning flawless 100-point scores from Parker for the 1997, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2016 vintages. Perhaps the most jaw-dropping example of Screaming Eagle’s cult status was at an auction in Napa Valley in 2000, when a 6-liter bottle of the 1992 vintage sold for $500,000.

On the back of this momentum, Phillips sold the winery — for a rumored $30 million — to venture capitalists Charles Banks and Stan Kroenke and parted ways with the brand in 2006. In 2009, Banks also left the brand and now Kroenke is the sole proprietor.

Even though the winery has changed hands, and winemakers, it still enjoys its title as one of the most sought-after (and most expensive) bottles of wine on the market. Though much of its fame can be traced back to the stellar reviews, the brand’s mysterious presence — from its limited production and exclusive waiting list to its lack of winery tours and tastings — has also played a part. Not many people know what’s going on behind the scenes at Screaming Eagle, which may deter some buyers, but for most, that’s just part of the appeal.