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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.2 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 51 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Quiet Lion on 9/14/2020 & rated 93 points: Pop and pour. Opened up after a half-hour and continued to improve as we drank for a total of 90 minutes. This is Cliff Lede's Merlot-heavy blend. It's showing beautifully right now. With air, velvety tannins, milk chocolate cherry, black pepper, graphite, Italian herbs. Really good effort and no signs of fading. Probably near peak with at least five years to go. (1303 views) | | | Tasted by tc from santee on 6/21/2020 & rated 94 points: I really enjoy this blend from day one to day three. It is still powerful with (in my option) 5 more years left. In the style of Saint Emilion, dark berry fruit, spice, dark chocolate and terrior. It had a 60 second finish. (994 views) | | | Tasted by Mdb1982 on 5/29/2020 & rated 93 points: Great bottle. I’d drink this sooner rather than later. Opened up nicely after about an hour in the decanter.
From their website, they can describe it better than I can.
“Dense aromas of persimmon, pomegranate, clove, nutmeg, lotus flower and allspice evolve in multiple layers. A mouth divided between roses and oolong tea, builds generously into a rich seas of Sabra, dusty gravel, and sweet black tea. Plush and generous, this wine truly defines elegance. This vintage is a blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot.” (1005 views) | | | Tasted by drrobvino on 11/10/2019 & rated 89 points: Enjoyed this bottle over a few days.
Right bank Bordeaux blend, shows a bit harsh and foursquare to my taste, especially for the price of $75 USD.
Serious dark fruits, with dark chocolate, espresso, black currant, and green pepper, showing some heat on the thick and chewy finish.
Drink now through 2026+. (1215 views) | | | Tasted by Winegeek83 on 11/5/2018 & rated 90 points: Still holding on but wouldn’t wait any longer. Very rich, ripe fruit with low tannin and low acidity. The Stag’s Leap fruit is evident here and while pleasant and flavorful, drops off fairly quickly. Nice bottle of wine. Drink up! (1252 views) | | | Tasted by Quiet Lion on 10/19/2016 & rated 92 points: Drinking very well right now. A right-bank effort from one of my favorite Napa producers, this wine is supposedly 50% Merlot, which normally produces a very unpleasant bitter finish on my palate. This one had only a hint of Baker's chocolate on the end and I enjoyed the juice quite a bit. It's perfumed, balanced and medium bodied. (1555 views) | | | Tasted by Corrie on 4/21/2016 & rated 93 points: Well balanced right now, would not wait longer. (1600 views) | | | Tasted by kennyd on 10/10/2015 & rated 91 points: Pretty consistent with last bottle, slightly down. (1785 views) | | | Tasted by kennyd on 8/29/2013 & rated 92 points: Good example of a New World take on a Right Bank Bordeaux. The merlot pops in classic flavors of chocolate, vanilla and sweet red fruits. There's a bouquet of moist tobacco and some cedar, with all of the baking spices that you would put with vanilla. Really good taste. Drinks well by itself, but would undoubtedly be versatile enough to pair with a number of different foods. It's quite full right now, and I don't see it falling off anytime in the next few years I have a couple of bottles of the '08, and given the (negative?) comments of some in the CT community, I'm interested see how the later vintage tastes. (3348 views) | | | Tasted by thurwich on 6/3/2013 & rated 91 points: Nice wine great with steak. Aged well and will continue to improve (3416 views) | | | Tasted by ejca on 5/28/2013: Enjoyed, will hold second bottle for a year or two. Much better than the 08 we tried the night before. (2657 views) | | | Tasted by JJA on 8/10/2012 & rated 91 points: WOTN (3409 views) | | | Tasted by KeithSurg on 4/22/2012 & rated 89 points: Poured through vinturi. Smoother and drinking better already than when tasted previously. (3419 views) | | | Tasted by iamandyc on 4/8/2012 & rated 92 points: This was one of the best new world merlots I've had and it still seems young and should develop further. Lush and velvety upon entry with baking spices, vanilla and chocolate edge. Concentrated but not sweet or flabby as there is ample structure (especially tannins) to handle the fruit. It's a bit hot but not offensive. Long finish and strong nose of black fruits and floral notes. (2242 views) | | | Tasted by Tom Warden on 3/8/2012 & rated 89 points: This was nice, but didn't blow my socks off. Decanted and ate with a good steak. Nice pairing...wine tasted good two days later. Will be interesting to see how it ages. (2121 views) | | | Tasted by ewasowicz on 12/22/2011 & rated 90 points: Nose: raisins and blackberries
Taste: cassis, light oak, dark fruit (2559 views) | | | Tasted by winosis3 on 12/17/2011 & rated 91 points: beautiful ruby color; smooth bit of sediment (2336 views) | | | Tasted by kgh on 11/29/2011 & rated 90 points: Nice concentration and overall structure, just lacking complexity of flavors to make it outstanding. Still, a very good red wine. (2392 views) | | | Tasted by Richard Levine on 8/16/2011 & rated 91 points: Dark fruit, initially brooding and closed, as it sat in the glass it opened delightfully. (2525 views) | | | Tasted by KeithSurg on 8/13/2011 & rated 88 points: Big wine that's still tight and tannic. Has potential, will wait on other bottles. (2465 views) | | | Tasted by East of Napa on 6/18/2011 & rated 91 points: very nice wine with a smooth finish and lots of flavor (2748 views) | | | Tasted by DOH! on 6/4/2011 & rated 93 points: Delicious. Hint of vanilla. (2784 views) | | | Tasted by kgh on 12/7/2010 & rated 89 points: Very tight and closed down at first, improved with some time in glass. Red fruit and soft velvety texture. (3451 views) | | | Tasted by jcrotinger on 10/18/2010: Gave bottle to Geoff and Barbara. (3562 views) | | | Tasted by jcrotinger on 10/18/2010: Gave one bottle to Geoff and Barbara. (3571 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Cliff Lede Producer website2007 Cliff Lede High Fidelitytasting notes
Inspired by the opulent right bank blends of Bordeaux, this wine is built from fine-grained Merlots and the elegant refines of Cabernet. Dense aromas of persimmon, pomegranate, clove, nutmeg, lotus flower and allspice evolve in multiple layers. A mouth divided between roses and oolong tea, builds generously into a rich seas of Sabra, dusty gravel, and sweet black tea. Plush and generous, this wine truly defines elegance.
analysis
Composition: 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot
Alcohol: 15.1%
Bottled: July 2009
Release: February 2010
Production: 661 CasesRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.USAAmerican 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)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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