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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.8 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 50 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by arilaing on 4/2/2024: Really loved this! (721 views) | | | Tasted by AGELVIS on 3/16/2024 & rated 94 points: PNP. Deep dark magenta color. Cassis, dark chocolate, and limestone. Smooth, dry, full bodied, and slightly spicy palate. Firm, full tannins on the longish finish.
This is rich and was much better than my last bottle (last year). Great QPR. (1100 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 2/29/2024 & rated 88 points: BTG. Black and blue fruit with savory spices. Fat sets off big and fun, less complex as it moves forward. (953 views) | | | Tasted by gstutz on 12/3/2023 & rated 90 points: Nice blend. Primarily plum on the nose. A big wine which benefits from a lot of swirling to open up, but pronounced plum and cassis with enough structure and tannin to balance. Likely better in a couple of years but drinking decently now. Liked better than the 2016. (1333 views) | | | Tasted by Franken Berry on 8/13/2023 & rated 93 points: Here is an 18 Napa cab that continues to drink well with minimal air and no hard edges. Perhaps it is the blend of 5 varieties, or it’s riveting acidity and sublime minerality that keeps the dark fruit in harmony.
I pulled the cork and let it sit an hour while making dinner lakeside. Always an inky purple color, with a nose of wildflowers and cassis. Blue and red fruits on the palate, intermixed with cedar, tobacco, baker’s chocolates, with a hint of anise. Medium in richness and depth of fruit.
This wine is never a blockbuster, but does a great job of warming up the palate, or closing the night. I love the savory minerality of a good SLD cab. This is such an easy wine to share with friends or drink mid week (2169 views) | | | Tasted by tomoem on 7/4/2023 & rated 92 points: An elegant and rich young cabernet. Aromatics are awesome with savory red meat aromas mixed with plum skin and black cherry. In mouth more red cherry than black cherry. Finish is equally rich and laden with acidity. Favorable aging wine ability here. (1621 views) | | | Tasted by Vailman on 6/25/2023 & rated 93 points: Opened up beautifully with a short decant displaying a deep dark magenta color. Elegant and rich mouthfeel, fine grained tannins; blue and black fruits up front with just enough acidity; the richness of the fruit carries to the midpalate with notes of chocolate and toffee. Soft tannins finishing with a mixture of cassis, coffee, cedar and black licorice. This is drinking well right now but will continue to improve over the next few years. (1562 views) | | | Tasted by AGELVIS on 6/10/2023 & rated 91 points: One hour double decant. Deep dark magenta color. Black cherry, Dr. Pepper, and parsley. Smooth, dry palate, with vibrant acidity. Very firm, full tannins on the longish finish,
This is good for the money, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I usually do. It came across as more green than usual this time around. (2342 views) | | | Tasted by domestic_primate on 5/28/2023 & rated 92 points: Really nice but will let the others sleep if I can. (1376 views) | | | Tasted by beatles on 5/12/2023 & rated 93 points: So charming and sexy. Sweet fruit. Slightly toasted, yet a cool backbone, very elegant, alreayd quite open. (1515 views) | | | Tasted by yelnak on 4/18/2023 & rated 91 points: Stags’ Leap at its finest… creamy plum to nose. Rich medium minus acidity and tannins, luscious blue/blackberry on front; taste of black fruit carries to midpalate with notes of chocolate, toffee and raspberry, soft tannins finishing with whisps of camphor, cinnamon, cedar, and black licorice. Lovely and will drink well for another 4-6 years. (1189 views) | | | Tasted by BNA_Sommelier on 2/10/2023 & rated 89 points: Less complex that expected from this area of Napa and for a 2018. (1464 views) | | | Tasted by AGELVIS on 1/3/2023 & rated 94 points: PNP. Very deep dark electric ruby magenta color. Dark cocoa, plum, oleander, and subtle grilled lemon on the nose. Very smooth, dry, plush palate. Firm, full tannins on the longish finish.
I may have given the score a small increase for value. There are not many better bottles for $60ish. (2547 views) | | | Tasted by castle.rob@gmail.com on 12/11/2022 & rated 92 points: Beautiful purple color with a rose rim.
Blackberries, leather, cigar on the nose.
Nice dry wine with cherry and licorice on the palate
Heavy acidity and above medium tannins are well balanced with the fruit
This wine was better than expected. I'd definitely drink again (1819 views) | | | Tasted by Spowell on 12/3/2022 & rated 100 points: Pretty much perfect cab. (1784 views) | | | Tasted by AGELVIS on 11/4/2022 & rated 94 points: One hour decant. Very deep dark magenta color. Black cherry, dark raspberry, violet, blood orange rind, tobacco, and limestone on the nose. Smooth, dry palate. Full tannins on the longish finish.
This has pretty good complexity for its price point. Great QPR here. (2736 views) | | | Tasted by wineotim on 10/21/2022 & rated 92 points: My second bottle review of this. I noticed more firmness and structure, less ripeness, more elegant than previous years. There's a lot of lift here, lite on its feet, mineral notes too. It reminded me of the '18 Lafon Rochet. I can't wait to open the '18 magic nights. (2041 views) | | | Tasted by ragtop on 9/11/2022 & rated 94 points: Beautiful purple, nose is excellent, bright fruit and slight smoke. The palette is well balanced for a young wine Raspberry. Drinking well now and for the next 10yrs. (1760 views) | | | Tasted by AGELVIS on 8/19/2022 & rated 93 points: Four hour decant. Deep dark electric magenta color. Blackberry, boysenberry, vanilla bean, orange rind, and sarsaparilla on the nose. Dry, brambly, full bodied palate, with fine, effervescent acidity. Firm, lower intensity tannins on the longish finish.
This is a bit youthful. It’s got a murky, meaty quality that needs cellar time to sort out. It improved over an hour of drinking. (2371 views) | | | Tasted by Mark1npt on 8/17/2022 & rated 93 points: Picked up a couple of bottles of this one on a recent trip to Houston. Decided to try one with the HMCs tonight. Pnp'd into a decanter, tried at about one hour in, but this really needed another 2 hours to come around. Was pretty tight, tannic, and very black to start out. Softened, fruit turned silky and lightened up a bit and it drank quite well from that point. Nice rounded tannins then, dark berries, very well made, so pretty good qpr at around $62/bottle. (3099 views) | | | Tasted by caspernick on 8/15/2022 & rated 93 points: After a delightful dinner at a Thai restaurant we went back to my friend's house where he unleashed this beauty. I sniffed and tasted the wine blind- there was no mistaking its origin. I did not take notes but needless to say the initial whiff of aromas gave this Napa Cabernet Sauvignon away. Rich, ripe black berries, Stags Leap earthy dust, menthol, vanilla and spice. The palate was dry and full bodied. Bright California sunshine was evident in the fruit- as were the dusty notes I got on the nose. Tannins were super smooth and well integrated. The acidity was medium and well balanced. The finish on this $75 bottle was long and delicious. A 93 point wine that gets 5 stars from me. You could pair it with a variety of meat dishes but then again you could just sip it and enjoy its purity. Drink till 2030.
https://wp.me/p125DB-2Nl (1293 views) | | | Tasted by littlefoot on 7/21/2022 & rated 90 points: First bottle sometime last year. Hard as a rock. Second bottle tasted 5/2021 and still hard as a rock. Good bones, but still impenetrable. Disappointing as I Stag's Leap for its lush, forward character and this one is all structure for now. (1251 views) | | | Tasted by AGELVIS on 6/7/2022 & rated 95 points: One hour decant. Very deep dark magenta color. Maraschino cherry, dark chocolate, eucalyptus, nutmeg, anise, and tobacco on the nose. Smooth, dry palate, with mouth coating acidity. Firm, medium intensity tannins on the long finish.
This was a real surprise for me. It really needed an additional hour of air to shine, but it drank really well. I’ve not had much Lede, but now I plan to get more. (1969 views) | | | Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 6/2/2022: Left Bank Bordeaux with a kiss of California sunshine. Really quite lovely on the nose with pure ripe blackberry and red fruit. And a really lively tense acidity as well. Interesting. Graphite and black fruit. Punchy and young as it were. (1225 views) | | | Tasted by HixxinSoulard on 3/5/2022 & rated 85 points: Very good but standard high-end Cali cab
$80/bottle (1633 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Napa Valley’s 2018s (1/27/2021)
(Cliff Lede Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Napa Valley’s Thrilling 2018s & 2019s, Parts 1 & 2 (Jan 2021) (1/1/2021)
(Cliff Lede Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (Stags Leap District) Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JebDunnuck.com and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Cliff Lede Producer websiteCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Stags Leap District Stags Leap District |
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