Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon

Jean Phillips, a former Napa Valley real estate agent, bought the Oakville property that became Screaming Eagle in 1986. The vineyard was then planted almost entirely to white varieties, apart from one acre of Cabernet Sauvignon. Phillips replanted it to Bordeaux red varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon clone 7, on the advice of winemaker André Tchelistcheff. For her first few years as a grower she sold her grapes to established neighbors such as Robert Mondavi, and the one-acre Cabernet block showed such potential that Mondavi encouraged her to bottle it separately. Phillips hired Richard Peterson, father of winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett, as her consultant; Gustav Dalla Valle, another Peterson client, suggested that Barrett speak with Phillips, who hired her as the winery's inaugural winemaker. The debut 1992 vintage was priced at $75 a bottle, with an initial run of approximately 175 cases. Released in 1995, it received 99 points from Robert Parker, a score he later raised to a perfect 100.

• Jean Phillips, a former Napa real estate agent, bought the Oakville property in 1986, when it was planted almost entirely to white varieties apart from one acre of Cabernet Sauvignon
• Phillips replanted the vineyard to Bordeaux red varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon clone 7, on André Tchelistcheff's advice
• Robert Mondavi, an early buyer of her grapes, encouraged her to bottle the one-acre Cabernet block separately
• Richard Peterson became Phillips's consultant; his daughter Heidi Peterson Barrett, introduced through Gustav Dalla Valle, became the winery's first winemaker
• The 1992 debut: $75 a bottle, approximately 175 cases, released in 1995 and scored 99 points by Robert Parker, later raised to 100
• Earlier names for the property: the Bert Rossi Vineyard, with grapes recorded there in the 1920s, then Pasadena Vineyards under Paul Young from the early 1950s and John and Jean Michels from 1957; Screaming Eagle's fictitious business name El Retiro Winery refers to the vineyard's name under a later owner, retired airline pilot Tony Gomez

In March 2006 Phillips sold Screaming Eagle to Enos Stanley Kroenke, his wife Ann, and financial entrepreneur Charles Banks; the price was not disclosed, with estimates of $30 million to $40 million. Banks, then also the owner of Mayacamas Winery, left both Screaming Eagle and Jonata, the Kroenke-Banks venture, in April 2009, and Kroenke became sole proprietor of both properties. Kroenke owns several major professional sports franchises and is the largest private landowner in the United States, with approximately 2.7 million acres; in Napa Valley he also co-owns Meadowood Napa Valley with Bill Harlan. Ann Walton Kroenke is an heir to the Walmart fortune. After the sale the new owners carried out a significant vineyard replanting under viticulturist David Abreu and built a new winery, designed by Backen & Backen, with a cave, keeping the original stone winery intact. Winemaking passed from Heidi Peterson Barrett to Andy Erickson and, in 2011, to Nick Gislason, who has led the cellar since.

• March 2006: Jean Phillips sold Screaming Eagle to Enos Stanley Kroenke, his wife Ann, and Charles Banks; the price was not disclosed, with estimates of $30 million to $40 million
• April 2009: Charles Banks, then also owner of Mayacamas Winery, left Screaming Eagle and Jonata, leaving Kroenke sole proprietor of both
• Kroenke owns several major professional sports franchises, is the largest private landowner in the U.S. with about 2.7 million acres, and co-owns Meadowood Napa Valley with Bill Harlan; Ann Walton Kroenke is a Walmart heir
• Post-2006 ownership carried out a significant replanting under viticulturist David Abreu and built a new winery designed by Backen & Backen, with a cave, while preserving the original stone winery
• Winemakers: Heidi Peterson Barrett (inaugural winemaker), Andy Erickson, then Nick Gislason from 2011; Gislason also founded the beer brand Hanabi

Screaming Eagle sits on the eastern side of the Oakville bench at 7557 Silverado Trail. The vineyard lies on a gentle west-facing slope of rocky, well-draining volcanic soils and gravelly loam; afternoon sun brings full ripeness, and cooling breezes off San Pablo Bay temper the fruit. The property covers approximately 70 acres, and the vineyard is divided into more than 50 blocks, each vinified separately in stainless steel, concrete, or French oak. Neighboring producers in the immediate area include Harbison Vineyards, Gamble Estates, Tench Vineyard, Gargiulo, and Joseph Phelps's Bachus Vineyard.

• Located on the eastern side of the Oakville bench at 7557 Silverado Trail
• Gentle west-facing slope of rocky, well-draining volcanic soils and gravelly loam, with afternoon sun and cooling breezes off San Pablo Bay
• The property is approximately 70 acres; the vineyard is divided into more than 50 blocks, each vinified separately in stainless steel, concrete, or French oak
• Neighboring Oakville-area producers include Harbison Vineyards, Gamble Estates, Tench Vineyard, Gargiulo, and Joseph Phelps's Bachus Vineyard

The flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is made in strictly limited volumes, roughly 500 to 850 cases a year depending on yield. Since 2012 the estate has also produced The Flight, a Merlot-dominant sister wine formerly called Second Flight, and an extremely rare Sauvignon Blanc, usually just one or two barrels a year. Beginning with the 2010 vintage, every bottle of Screaming Eagle, Second Flight, and The Flight carries a bubble-coded security label placed between the foil and the bottle, verifiable on the winery's website, to guard against counterfeits.

• Flagship Cabernet Sauvignon production is strictly limited to roughly 500 to 850 cases per vintage, depending on yield
• The Flight: a Merlot-dominant sister wine made since 2012, formerly called Second Flight
• Sauvignon Blanc: extremely rare, usually just one or two barrels a year
• From the 2010 vintage, bottles of Screaming Eagle, Second Flight, and The Flight carry a bubble-coded security label between the foil and the bottle, verifiable on the winery's website

The Napa Wine Project calls the 1992 debut "the catalyst for the modern cult wine phenomenon." The mailing list was full by 2000, and by 2009 the waiting list exceeded 5,000 names. Applicants get no firm timeframe: a place opens only when an active member drops off the list. Screaming Eagle offers no public tours or tastings because of the small quantity of wine produced. A 6-liter bottle of the 1992 vintage sold for $500,000 at a Napa Valley charity auction in 2000, a price later surpassed by another producer's 6-liter bottle at a 2021 charity auction. At the time of the 2006 sale the winery was producing only around 500 cases a year; by 2009 the flagship sold for $750 a bottle.

• The Napa Wine Project calls the 1992 debut "the catalyst for the modern cult wine phenomenon"
• The mailing list was full by 2000; by 2009 the waiting list exceeded 5,000 names, and applicants get no firm timeframe for admission
• No public tours or tastings, because of the small quantity of wine produced
• A 6-liter bottle of the 1992 vintage sold for $500,000 at a 2000 charity auction, a price later surpassed by another producer's 6-liter bottle at a 2021 charity auction
• At the time of the 2006 sale the winery was producing only around 500 cases a year; by 2009 the flagship sold for $750 a bottle

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.screamingeagle.com/, https://www.screamingeagle.com/faq, https://www.screamingeagle.com/authenticate. The producer's site is minimal and gated: it has no history, estate, vineyard, team, or wines pages, and the winery offers no public tours or tastings. Secondary sources: The Napa Wine Project, Wine Spectator (April 9, 2009), Decanter (last updated May 28, 2015). Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs; where the producer's site is silent, the secondary sources are cited directly and any conflicts between them are noted separately.