Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon

Jean Phillips, a former Napa Valley real estate agent, purchased the Oakville property that became Screaming Eagle in 1986. At the time of her purchase, the vineyard was planted almost entirely to white varieties, apart from one acre of Cabernet Sauvignon. Phillips oversaw the replanting of the vineyard to Bordeaux red varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon clone 7, on the advice of veteran winemaker André Tchelistcheff. In her early years as a grower she sold most of her fruit to established Napa neighbors, including Robert Mondavi, but the existing one-acre Cabernet block showed such promise that Mondavi encouraged her to bottle it separately. Phillips hired Richard Peterson, father of winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett, as her consultant; Gustav Dalla Valle, for whom Peterson also consulted, suggested that Barrett speak with Phillips, and Phillips hired Barrett as the winery's inaugural winemaker. The debut 1992 vintage, made from that one-acre block, was priced at $75 a bottle and produced in an initial run of approximately 175 cases. Released in 1995, it received 99 points from critic Robert Parker, a score later upgraded to a perfect 100, and the reception helped establish the modern Napa cult-wine phenomenon.

• Jean Phillips, a former Napa real estate agent, purchased the Oakville property in 1986, when the vineyard was planted almost entirely to white varieties except for one acre of Cabernet Sauvignon
• Phillips replanted the vineyard to Bordeaux red varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon clone 7, on the advice of winemaker André Tchelistcheff
• Robert Mondavi, to whom Phillips sold most of her grapes early on, encouraged her to bottle the one-acre Cabernet block separately after it showed exceptional promise
• Richard Peterson became Phillips's consultant; his daughter Heidi Peterson Barrett, introduced to Phillips through Gustav Dalla Valle, was hired as the winery's first winemaker
• The debut 1992 vintage was priced at $75 a bottle, produced in an initial run of approximately 175 cases, and released in 1995 with a 99-point Robert Parker score later upgraded to a perfect 100
• Before Phillips, the property was known as the Bert Rossi Vineyard in the 1920s and then Pasadena Vineyards under Paul Young and later John and Jean Michels from the 1950s; a later owner was retired airline pilot Tony Gomez, referenced in one of Screaming Eagle's own fictitious business names, El Retiro Winery

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

• Jean Phillips sold Screaming Eagle in March 2006 to Enos Stanley Kroenke, his wife Ann, and Charles Banks; the price was undisclosed, with estimates ranging from about $30 million to $40 million
• Charles Banks, also owner of Mayacamas Winery at the time, left Screaming Eagle and Jonata in April 2009; Kroenke became sole proprietor of both wineries
• Kroenke owns several major professional sports franchises, is described as the largest private landowner in the U.S. with about 2.7 million acres, and is co-owner with Bill Harlan of Meadowood Napa Valley; his wife 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 connecting cave, while preserving the original stone winery
• Winemaking passed from Heidi Peterson Barrett (1992 debut) to Andy Erickson and then, from 2011, to Nick Gislason, who is also the founder of the beer brand Hanabi

Screaming Eagle sits on the eastern side of the Oakville bench at 7557 Silverado Trail. The vineyard occupies a gentle, west-facing slope of rocky, well-draining volcanic soils and gravelly loam; afternoon sun ensures full ripeness while cooling breezes off San Pablo Bay temper the fruit. The property is approximately 70 acres, with the vineyard currently divided into more than 50 separate blocks that the winemaking team ferments individually in a mix of stainless steel, concrete, and French oak vessels before blending. 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
• 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 fermented separately in stainless steel, concrete, or French oak before blending
• Neighboring Oakville-area producers include Harbison Vineyards, Gamble Estates, Tench Vineyard, Gargiulo, and Joseph Phelps's Bachus Vineyard

Screaming Eagle's flagship is its Cabernet Sauvignon, made in strictly limited volumes of roughly 500 to 850 cases a year depending on the vintage's yield. Since 2012 the estate has also produced The Flight, a Merlot-dominant sister wine formerly called Second Flight, and a Sauvignon Blanc so rare that only one or two barrels are made in a given year; the winery's own authentication page still refers to the lineup collectively as "Screaming Eagle, Second Flight and The Flight wines." Beginning with the 2010 vintage, every bottle across the lineup carries a bubble-coded security label placed between the foil and the bottle, verifiable on the winery's own website, to guard against counterfeits.

• Flagship Cabernet Sauvignon production is strictly limited to roughly 500 to 850 cases per vintage, depending on yield
• Since 2012 the estate has also made The Flight, a Merlot-dominant wine formerly called Second Flight, sourced from the same estate; the winery's own authenticate page groups the lineup as "Screaming Eagle, Second Flight and The Flight wines"
• An extremely limited Sauvignon Blanc is also produced, typically just one or two barrels a year
• Beginning with the 2010 vintage, every bottle carries a bubble-coded security label between the foil and the bottle, verifiable on the winery's website, to guard against counterfeiting

Screaming Eagle's 99-point 1992 debut is widely credited with helping create the modern Napa cult-wine phenomenon of extreme scarcity paired with critical acclaim. The winery's mailing list was already full by 2000, and by 2009 the waiting list exceeded 5,000 names; the winery itself says it cannot give applicants a firm timeframe and that a place opens only when an active member drops off the list. Screaming Eagle does not offer public tours or tastings, citing the small quantity of wine produced. The wine's scarcity has driven record auction prices: a 6-liter bottle of the 1992 vintage sold for $500,000 at a charity auction in 2000, a record for a 6-liter Screaming Eagle bottle that was later eclipsed by another producer's 6-liter charity-auction sale in 2021. At the time of the 2006 ownership sale, Screaming Eagle was producing only around 500 cases a year; by 2009 the flagship retailed to mailing-list members at $750 a bottle.

• The 99-point 1992 debut is widely credited as a catalyst for the modern Napa cult-wine phenomenon
• The mailing list was full by 2000; by 2009 the waiting list exceeded 5,000 names, and the winery says it cannot give a firm timeframe for admission
• The property does not offer 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 charity auction in 2000, a record for a 6-liter Screaming Eagle bottle later eclipsed by another producer's 6-liter charity-auction sale in 2021
• At the time of the 2006 sale the winery was producing only around 500 cases a year; by 2009 the flagship retailed to mailing-list members at $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 2026-09-08. 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.