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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.6 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 46 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by wconnolly on 8/14/2023 & rated 92 points: Raspberry, pomegranate, cherry, a hint of clove and cedar. Very nice, but this is about the fourth vintage of Poetry I have tasted and was the lightest in weight and body. Still full bodied with wonderful balance and complexity. Tannins are fully integrated and this is unlikely to improve further. (484 views) | | | Tasted by timtom on 12/24/2021 & rated 92 points: Short decant. Very well balanced with flavors of dark red fruit and soft tannins. Still drinking very well, but maybe past its prime. (1402 views) | | | Tasted by wconnolly on 6/5/2021 & rated 95 points: Deep red color in the glass. Plenty of fruit with notes of dark cherry, raspberry, chocolate and baking spice. Wonderfully balanced with still grippy tannins. Full bodied with a lingering finish. Let this decant for 3 and a half hours. Tannins predominate until that 3 and a half hour mark when the wine opens to reveal its incredible balance. (1862 views) | | | Tasted by Myman24 on 8/30/2020 & rated 95 points: Amazing! Ready to go since opening. Short Decant and the wine is so classic Cliff Lede. Fruit forward, balanced, lingering finish. Just what i love and expect from Napa cabs. (2433 views) | | | Tasted by sunnylea57 on 1/19/2020: I've opened three bottles of the 2008 and they've all been different. The last one was a dense, intense brute - not at all approachable, even with a long decant. This one was medium bodied and pliant with just a pop and pour, with sweet red raspberry, milk chocolate, wood spice, and a good level of acidity. Hard to believe that this has opened up so dramatically in the 16 months since my last bottle. (2584 views) | | | Tasted by ONEFIVE on 5/1/2019: Ruby red edge with a dense blood/black red core.
Beautiful aromatics if eucalyptus, black licorice, cassis, cocoa powder, and dense black fruit.
On the palate this is still incredibly youthful. Tannins are integrating nicely and the acidity is still fresh. Fruit is still primary! Wow. One of my best experiences with this wine. Drink now, or hold for another 15+ years. (2604 views) | | | Tasted by sunnylea57 on 9/2/2018 & rated 91 points: Dense, palate-staining, tannic and primary. Almost cloyingly concentrated raspberry. Come back in 10+ years. Score is based solely on potential. (2308 views) | | | Tasted by sunnylea57 on 3/24/2018 & rated 92 points: Drinking very well now but likely has another 10 years ahead of it. Dark cherry, licorice, unsweetened dark chocolate, good acidity, resolved tannins. Velvety. (2675 views) | | | Tasted by heidoanddave on 11/18/2017 & rated 94 points: Drinking well but still young. (2227 views) | | | Tasted by WineForRob on 11/2/2017 flawed bottle: Corked. Earth and heat. (2478 views) | | | Tasted by heidoanddave on 8/31/2016 & rated 91 points: We thought this was very tight even after an hour plus decant. High tannins remain. Will hold balance of bottles. (2819 views) | | | Tasted by KeithSurg on 7/24/2016 & rated 94 points: Great balance, texture and finish. It's all here. Drank after the Beautiful Generation, which was the star of the night. This wine was smooth and integrated, but lacked some wow factor of the younger wine. (2570 views) | | | Tasted by Meneley on 7/11/2015: Sweet oak, delicious black fruits. Well balanced and aging well. LO (2839 views) | | | Tasted by LESTERTHEINVESTOR on 1/8/2015 & rated 91 points: Still strong tannins which give structure, but need to mellow. Strong fruit flavors, but with decanting and allowing to breath/open, it improves after 30-40 minutes. Still, should probably not consume for 3-5 years. (2961 views) | | | Tasted by Yack Man on 8/18/2014 & rated 90 points: I enjoy Stags Leap Cabs as they are usually big, fruit forward, with good concentration and big extraction. That being said, this 2008 Poetry was a little disappointing actually. Acidic, soft fruit and a soft finish not much to mention. Good wine but overpriced. 89.6 points (3718 views) | | | Tasted by Life At Your Leisure 🍷 on 5/2/2014 & rated 94 points: Dark ruby color turning purple at the rim with a rich, earthy nose of dark fruit, espresso and cocoa. The palate is opulent with a thick, velvety texture and vibrant acidity. The flavors of mocha, tasted vanilla, currant, tobacco and scorched earth blend seamlessly on a layered, supple, and melodious effort. Finishes fragrantly with a hint of leather. Drink now until 2023. 94+ (2966 views) | | | Tasted by J-Sho on 4/3/2014 & rated 92 points: This is currently drinking beautiful. Dense red color with soft fruit and vanilla aromas. Palate well rounded and full with long soft finish. (3110 views) | | | Tasted by josephme on 9/7/2013 & rated 93 points: Big, bold new world wine. Still too young, but opened with rich fruit and tobacco. Nicely balanced. (3208 views) | | | Tasted by cos65 on 2/1/2013: Deep blue purple. With a few hour decant, lovely berry, tobacco aromas. Very new world, but beautifully balanced. Highly recommended (3539 views) | | | Tasted by KeithSurg on 8/26/2012 & rated 94 points: Tasted next to the SLV bottling. This is a sweeter, more extracted wine. Bigger fruit and presenting better than when tasted 8 months ago. (4135 views) | | | Tasted by rh marcin on 4/12/2012 & rated 85 points: Drank one bottle to check on delivery issue (left in hot car). No appreciable damage, but wine is still too young to drink now. (4179 views) | | | Tasted by ONEFIVE on 3/30/2012: Great vintage of Poetry. Needs to sleep for 6 or 7 years. (939 views) | | | Tasted by J-Sho on 3/25/2012 & rated 90 points: Big, big wine. Dark in color with notes of really dark, black fruit, mineraly, and pencil lead. On the palate was big and enticing but with rough tannins at this point. 90 points today but would imagine a nice improvement if the tannins can soften and integrate with time. (3790 views) | | | Tasted by KeithSurg on 1/30/2012 & rated 92 points: Dark red color with plenty of minerality on the palate. Tannins supple, but fruit not coming out much after being opened an hour. Needs more time. (3460 views) | | | Tasted by cos65 on 12/25/2011: Christmas in Maryland for George's 87th: deep dark purple, full of dark fruits, graphite, with beauitful balance. A big yet very elegant Napa Cab. Outstanding ****+ (3632 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, May/June 2011, IWC Issue #156
(Cliff Lede Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry Stags Leap District) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of 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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