- 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 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 2015
"The deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District offers up a cassis, smoked meat, blackberry preserves and spice cake-scented nose with a mocha hint. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated with firm, grainy tannins, it shows a lot of oak, which should marry with the intense fruit, finishing long and layered."
93 points, Lisa Perrott-Brown (The Wine Advocate, Oct. 2017)