Community Tasting Notes (39) Avg Score: 94.3 points

  • I’ve written a few times over the years on this wine and it has progressively become better and better. Now a decade from vintage, the Stardust Heaven is in a wonderful drinking window. Black and dark red fruited, black rock, and hints of eucalyptus, this showy-meets-serious Rico Suave impresses with lovely balance and a debonair depth of flavor. Everything is right with this bottle. A great QPR that hovers in the $100-ish range. Consider popping ‘em if ya got ‘em.

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  • Drank this at an anniversary dinner for friends. Drank this after a 2010 Phillip Togni. This was a much different wine than the Togni. This wine was almost black in color. At 10 years old this wine has lost no power. A big wine which is cassis and blackberry dominant. For my money the Cliffe Lede Rock Block series at $110 is one of the best wines at this price point, year in and year out. Had not drank this vintage of the Rock Block before but 2013 is one of my favorite vintages. 95+

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  • To dark to see the color but really nice black fruit up front. Tannic after an hour without food. Second hour now with food. Fruit comes to the front Carrie’s through to a long long finish

    Perhaps another year improves this and softens tge tannins Personally I am waiting till late 2023 for my next bottle

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  • I continue to be impressed with the Lede wines (visited the tasting room in the Spring and bought a case of various wines). This needed almost no settling time, with black and red berry flavors, sweet spice and fine grained tannins. This is a big wine, no doubt, but not heavy handed or monolithic.

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  • Still tannic, even though 5 years inside Parker's drink window. One hour decant was not enough. Plum/prune, cigar, blackberry, licorice and leather. Finish was very good. For me the jury is still out on how well the Napa '13's (proclaimed the greatest vintage ever) will develop.

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  • Continuing to progress, and starting to kick out some optimum pleasure - though it is just now entering into a window where it is seemingly able to offer true flavor expansion. Locked and loaded still, but a few hours of decant time (filtered too, as this had a ton of sediment in the bottle) really brought out depth and complexity. Crunchy blackberriy, black raspberry, road tar, pencil lead, and black gravely soil swarmed around the palate with terrific tension and intensity. Built for an even longer haul, but super compelling now with some air.

    Ideally wait for another few years minimum. 96-97+ points. Try again after 2025 and you should have an epic wine.

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  • Fantastic

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  • This has really come into its own. When first released, it was super tight and tannic. It is now much smoother and very drinkable even without a lot or air time. Still in its early years but certainly has entered its drinking window.

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  • I agree with CSPeninsula. This is probably just a 92, especially at this price point and the reputation of this winery. It is good, but nothing spectacular. The color is deep purple. The nose is black currant, blueberry. The tannins are very very strong now, so this needs another 10-15 years to soften. The tannins are not approachable now. The fruit shows blackberry and blueberry, the minerality is pencil lead, graphite, and the spice is a hint of cinnamon. Overall, I would wait until 2030 or later to drink. 92 points.

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  • Definitely on the young side even after decanting. Opened nicely in the glaa

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  • Really good

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  • This wine aged really nicely. Popped and poured, great balance between fruit and earth, with a long-lasting smooth finish.

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  • A little less impressive this time around. Still a very solid wine, but it seemed more shut down and less layered/interesting. Finished noticeably sweeter this time as well.

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  • Deep blood red with a ruby edge.
    Cassis, wet stone, black fruit, and lovely baked pie crust with a touch of vanilla.
    Silky mouthfeel, loads of fruit balanced with moderate acidity. The tannins creep up on the back end and have some solid grip.
    This needs a good hour decant or at least another 3 to 5 years in bottle before enjoying again. It will last for decades.

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  • Noticed some leaking so had to open and try. Serious bummer.

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  • This is an amazing wine. Purchased several bottles a couple years ago and today was a day to enjoy. Frankly, it was even better than expected. My wife and some immediately said Cherry in the nose, while I perceived blueberry.. Both agreed with the other. Aroma of vanilla, magically turned to both vanilla and chocolate in flavor. The body was luxurious. Velvety and rich. Deep and thoughtful. So glad that I have several left.

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  • Dark purple fruit - blackberry, dark currants, dark raspberry, and a little dark cherry. Smooth mid-palate coupled with solid depth/concentration and purity of fruit. Nice flavors of dark berries, some spice/licorice, and a little mineral/graphite component. Decent finish but not overly long nor deep and just a little tannic. Decanted for one hour and drank over a couple more. Improved a little with time but drinking pretty well after the decant. However, I believe this vintage could use some more time for the fruit to soften/open-up a little more. According to Parker's review in 2015, he said it probably won't hit its peak until 5 to 7 years which appears to make sense around 2020 to 2022. A nice wine and I expect some improvement with more time but Parker's 98+ rating appears to be a little lofty in my opinion but hopefully some additional time proves me wrong. 90% cab sauvignon, 7% merlot, and 3% petit verdot.

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  • Decanted 3 hours, drank over three hours. Still young. Very deep and rich black fruit, oak is present but integrated well, tannins make for a tight wine. Needs more time in the bottle to fully develop

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  • Time in bottle has certainly helped this wine come along beautifully, kicking out fascinating flavors of earthy black raspberry, black cherry, blackberry seed, black rock, scorched earth, black licorice, and a captivating violet note that added lift and speed to the core fruit. A driven finish that repeats the flavor profile in a nice waved cadence on the back end. Some residual alcohol shows up as well, with the tannins surfacing on the tail and intermingling with the other notes.

    Another 2-3+ years will do this wine well, as this specimen was even better on Day 2. It is certainly compelling now, but should be even more stunning once the tannins integrate a bit more, allowing for the mid-palate to fully take in a deeper concentration and ultimately elongate the glide in the finish. Ideally try again after 2021. 96++ points, with a possibility of pushing near a triple digit score in the future. 98+RP seems fair given this wine’s trajectory.

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  • Very dark red; lots of dark fruit, some mocca and licorice (in particular to begin with - later fading); power, strong, mocca, dark licorice; tannic ending

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  • Quite a massive wine with big juicy tannins paired with plenty of fruit so that this is drinkable now. Very elegant and focused. I gave this no time to breathe, I think it needs a few hours and will be better in a few years, but it's still delicious.

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  • corked. awful. too bad :(

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  • Dark black purple
    Ripe blackberry kirsch
    Ripe sweet black cali fruit
    This is quite easy to like

    Total ripe cali cab.

    Fabulous if you like the style
    YFS

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  • Dinner at Murietta's
    Second of 5 wines with group dinner. A great Napa cab in great year. Black in glass, viscous, heady nose improved through the night, and tannins became more prominent the longer it was decanted. Highly extracted style, bursting with berries, dark chocolate, cassis, toast, clove. Sweet core, long, long finish.

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  • Great wine - but still a little too early to drink. Needs about 45 minutes to really settle down, but strong berry aromas. Still very tannic but this will age well.

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  • Absolutely amazing wine. Big, brash and tannic and deep dark inky purple. Decanted 2 hours before drinking it was still massive. Delicious now I'll wait 5+ years to drink my last bottle. On its own it's almost too big to enjoy, with food (lots of fat) it is simply AMAZING.

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  • Blackberry, kirsch, graphite and baking spice.
    Took a while to open up aromatically. Crazy tight on the palate.
    This wine is intense now, delicious, but intense. Will reward those who can wait a decade.

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  • Quick decant and still so tight, tannic, and glass staining. Huge wine with big flavors of anise, cassis liqueur, blueberry, cloves, and jammy raspberry. Viscous but mouth drying finish. Needs 5 more years.

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  • Wow, my first rock block bottling, and an exceptional year. PNP which is far too early for this one, but it was outstanding nonetheless. I agree this might be 98pts now or in future - just an awesome wine with many years ahead. I'm a new fan!

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  • A very immature, well extracted, dense and bold drink. With a dark, inky color, suppressed nose of blackberry and prunes, and tightly wound fruit with generous tannins and acidity, this beauty is seductive with a long finish. It is so tight right now, though, that the generous nature of the wine needs time. Cellar for at least five years.

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  • Light fruit on the nose but you can see the extraction in the dark purple colors.

    Good body and strong tannins which got me going --- then a very vegetal and bitter finish which totally destroyed the wine for me.

    Initially this was heading for a mid 90 but at best unfortunately I can't give this more than a 90.

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  • Last of the two Cabs we received from Cliff Lede. Bright ruby red, more so than the SLD Cabernet. Some heat on the nose with dark black berries and graphite. Heavy tannins (8.5/10) and full bodied. Very tight and dark to start and needs time to fully open up. Some red cherries and cinnamon on day one. Day two added some complexity with black cherries, dark baking spices, pencil shavings and even more darker fruits. A ton of tannins on day two still. Insanely long finish with some vegetal notes and slight bitterness. Would love to try this again in a few years. Drink from 2018 till 2038. 92+

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  • Agree with others on this. Wait! In fact, wait another 4 years. 2020 seems like a good time to see where this is, as it displayed extremely coiled-up notes of red berry fruit, alcohol, chalk, and stone. Not a "bad" drink by any means, but just needs time.

    Leave it alone and let it work out its issues. It seems much more restrained and linear than its 2012 counterpart (Beautiful Generation) was at the same stage of its youth. Don't be discouraged by this wine, just be patient. Don't bother decanting or playing around with this little bugger until 2019/2020.

    Did I mention WAIT?!..........

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  • Needs time. Decanted for three hours, then drank over three hours. This is a giant wine. Almost motor oil looking. Hard to describe other than great structure, complex, and hopefully typical of the vintage. Tannins hit you upside the head, they need time to settle. Fruit is present, oak is far in the background. Revisit in 2019.

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  • Opened our first of two bottles, which we recently purchased after tasting at the Napa winery. Loved the dark purple color, and the ripened fruit nose. The taste, however, exposed very little fruit and was dominated by the earth. Obviously, the wine's balance improved the longer it sat out. Good now, and pleased that we can cellar the other bottle for a few more years.

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  • Was torn about opening a bottle as heard this is a baby, but couldn't help it. Absolutely delicious in every sense. Decanted and splashed/swirled for 3 hours. As it opens, forest floor hits you immediately with blackberry, dark cassis, meadow flowers developing. Big black licorice component throughout which I really liked. Layers of flavor, mouth coating, juicy and ripe fruit almost balancing the prominent and youthful tannins at this point with a long finish. Had with a prime filet which paired very well. It's a treat now with proper airtime, but will only get better with time.

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  • Rich, dark fruit balanced nicely with minerals and spice. Classic Stan's Leap texture and profile. Tannins need much more time, as they dry out the finish. Score reflects today's pnp notes - will hold any other bottles.

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  • This opaque crimson wine is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. Packed with blackberries, licorice, dark chocolate, loamy earth and pipe tobacco, it is a full-bodied, deeply extracted offering with fresh acidity, nicely integrated alcohol (14.9%) and abundant fine-grained tannins. Impressively dense in the middle and long on the finish, this is one for the long haul. Although it is tempting to pop the cork now, patience will be rewarded. Drink 2020-2035.

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  • Just received four bottles, so naturally had to pop one open. This was my last experiment with the Cliff Lede wine club, as I think this is their only wine that represents a value, and of course they still managed to bump the price up 15%+ this year. That plus not giving the club discount on the BTK was enough for me to quit. All that said, this is THE bottling I generally LOVE. Had it against a '13 Rudius Panek (same price in the club) and thought it was slightly better, although neither was really ready to drink.

    The nose is absolutely killer, with black and blueberry fruit, cassis, licorice and an unmistakable floral scent. It is gorgeous and full bodied, but the tannins are insane right now. You can tell this is going to be something special, but currently it's really hard to break through the tannic wall. It probably has 30 years of longevity in it, and the complexity and purity of fruit would appear to be excellent. No idea if this is really a 98+ point wine (per Parker), but it certainly is intriguing and will be fascinating to taste again in another couple years. My advice: put it away for a while. If opening, give it a ton of air.

    Follow up: Had some left over on Day 2 and WOW, it's awesome! Sorry to question you Mr. Parker. Apparently you only make big mistakes when the name on the label is "Caymus." This is probably 95-96 right now with lots of upside. Buy with confidence.

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