Producer: Cliff Lede Vineyards - read about the Estate
	
Winemaker: Christopher Tynan
	
Region (AVA): Napa (Stags Leap District)
	
Blend: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot, 7% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc
	
Vintage production: 4,385 cases
	
Winery location: Stag Leap District
	
Owner: Cliff Lede
	
First vintage: 2002
	
Drinking window: 2017-2033
 
About The Wine:
 
The 2015 vintage was a wonderfully classic year for Napa Valley wines. A dry winter, followed by warm spring temperatures, led to an early bud break that set the stage for one of the earliest harvests on record. Crop levels were lower than average due to dry conditions and a cool weather spell during flowering. The dry soils led to low vigor vines and small berries, creating very concentrated fruit. With lovely summer weather, it was CLV's earliest harvest on record and the red wines they produced are opulent, voluptuous wines with incredible concentration.
 
The fruit was sourced from the hillside terraces of our Poetry Vineyard, our 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 our 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 our three-tiered sorting process, which included our cutting-edge optical sorter. Whole berries were gently delivered by gravity to tank using our 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 us to perfect mouth feel and wine complexity. The wine was aged in French oak barrels, 80% of which were new, for twenty-one months.