@John Hudgens - howdy and hello, and here are some thoughts on the great question. First, I think they, Meyer and his wife, and eventually son, actually split off from another early and long lasting icon of Napa and the surrounding area, Silver Oak, which used to be one of my absolute favorites. I liked it so much, especially the Alexander Valley variant, allegedly I used my expense account to drink enough of it such that Dave Cole, the former Sommelier at Metropolitan Grill in Seattle, when I once ordered three more bottle for the table told me “Sir, you are not this establishments only fucking customer but you treat it as if you are, you consider our wine collection as if it’s yours and it is decidedly not, and I Sir do not fucking work for you, so you will drink and enjoy what I bring to the table with joy” - he was a great friend and one of the blessed men to walk this earth with the deserved moniker of Rogue.
As to Stag’s Leap, as you I am sure appreciate, there are two wineries which are often confused (and should not be) with this seeming brand: Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, the OG, founded by Warren Winiarski, and referenced in the excellent book “The Judgement of Paris”, and Stags’ Leap Winery which has made a solid Cabernet Franc but doesn’t hold a candle to what the other produces.
Anyway, I digress to the importance of your question, an alternative.
If you were trying to replace Meyers and use the Silver Oak, Napa variant, as the reference, and can walk up the dollar scale a tad, try Gargiulo Vineyards, start with the Money Ranch Road bottle and see if my palette led you to gold, and then if so explore up in their range. The Silver Oak Alexander Valley variant, harder task, I used to go with Fieldstone Staten Family Reserve as an alternative, but John Staten sold to a group and I’m down to a spare few bottles.
If you are looking for something that is comparable to Warren’s original work at Stag’s Leap Winery Cellars, not the lineage of Meyer but still great lineage, try Bremer, which brings in some Howell Mountain fruit, and is exceptional across their range.
In the end these wine ventures are all interesting stories, and their product creates the lubrication to create more. Enjoy the journey and exploration.
And please, let us hear of the journey, I’m interested - it’s like DOPE data, I need the calibration.
