- Producer: Cliff Lede Vineyards - read about the Estate
- Winemaker: Christopher Tynan
- Region (AVA): Napa (Stags Leap District)
- Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot
- Vintage production: 4,314 cases
- Winery location: Stag Leap District
- Owner: Cliff Lede
- First vintage: 2002
- Drinking window: 2013-2033
About The Wine:
The fruit was sourced from the hillside terraces of the Estate Poetry Vineyard, the Twin Peaks Vineyard estate surrounding the winery, and a few neighboring vineyards in the Stags Leap District. The wine is composed of small lots from the best blocks, representing a diverse range of carefully selected clones and rootstocks. From Poetry’s exposed, rocky terraces boasting volcanic origins, to the ancient riverbed alluvial soils of Twin Peaks, the breadth of contributing sites translates into a wine of impressive complexity.
Grapes were picked in the darkness of the early morning hours. The freshly-harvested fruit immediately underwent rigorous selection by a three-tiered sorting process, which included a cutting-edge optical sorter. Whole berries were gently delivered by gravity to tank using a crane system, minimizing disruption of berry integrity. Cold soaks lasted approximately seven days, and fermentations were managed via a combination of délestage, pumpovers, and punchdowns.
Extended maceration ranging from four to five weeks fine-tuned our tannin profiles, allowing the team to perfect mouth feel and wine complexity. The wine was aged in French oak barrels, 80% of which were new, for twenty-one months.
Cliff Lede Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 MAGNUMS
"The elegance, finesse and purity of these wines are well evidenced by the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Stag’s Leap. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, this beauty boasts a deep blue/purple color as well as a stunning nose of acacia flowers, blueberries and raspberries. Medium to full-bodied with an ethereal elegance and lightness as well as beautiful texture, finesse and harmony, it reveals the Margaux-like side of southern Napa. Drink it over the next 15-20 years."
94 points, Robert Parker (Oct. 2013)