Winemaker Notes
Blend: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
Unfolds in a perfect arc of flavours, beginning with wet slate, graphite, black cherry and dark cassis, building toward a crescendo of wonderfully textured tannins that drive the mid-palate with intensity and precision. Eventually, the structure resolves into a beautifully perfumed finish, revealing red florals, espresso bean and even hints of guava and blood orange. Long and captivating. The blend contains 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot.
-
James Suckling
So intense, layered and deep, this is wrapped up tightly in tannins and destined for a good, long life. The hillside vines on the Cliff Lede property grow in rocky, infertile soil and produce small quantities of wine with density and length. Super blackcurrants, black cherries, minerals and nuances of toast, cocoa and espresso.
-
Vinous
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry is superb. Inky dark fruit, crème de cassis, chocolate, lavender, plum and cloves saturate the palate. Opulent and full-throttle to the core, the 2022 possesses tremendous fruit intensity, backed by the imposing structure that is typical of this site in Stags Leap. The balance here is exceptional. This is a very good wine for the year.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Cassis, graphite, crushed stone, violets, and purple flowers all soar from the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry. Medium to full-bodied and nicely concentrated, it shows an elegant, Saint-Julien-like style with fine tannins and beautiful balance. Complex notes of leather and potpourri add nuance to this pure, gorgeous wine that will evolve for 12-15 years.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Cliff Lede's 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry is firm, structured, intensely concentrated and definitely impressive, but it's not delicious—at least, not yet—finishing with layers of dusty tannins. To judge from its alluring scents of black cherries, allspice and cassis, this full-bodied wine has tons of potential, but it will likely need a decade of cellaring to really hit its stride. Will today's consumers have the patience required?
Rating: 94+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Aromas and flavors of dark fruits, refreshing cedar, tobacco, and spice braid into a palate of lush texture and fine grained tannins through a very long finish.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Legend has it that quick and nimble stags would escape the indigenous hunters of southern Napa Valley through the landmark palisades that sit just northeast of the current city of Napa. As a result, the area was given the name, Stags Leap. While its grape-growing history dates back to the mid-1800s, winemaking didn’t really take off until the mid-1970s after a small but pivotal blind tasting called the Judgement of Paris.
When a 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon won first place against its high-profile Bordeaux contenders, like Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Haut-Brion, international attention to the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley escalated rapidly.
The vineyards in this one-of-a-kind wine growing region receive hot afternoon air reflecting off of its eastern palisade formation. In combination with the cool evening breezes from the San Pablo Bay just south, this becomes an optimal environment for grape growing. While many varieties could thrive here, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate with virtually no others, save for a spot or two of Syrah.
Stags Leap soils—eroded volcanic and old river sediments—encourage well established root systems and result in complex, terroir-driven wines. Stags Leap District reds have a distinct sour cherry and black berry character with baking spice and dried earth aromas, and supple tannins.