Chasidy Kearns

8.9

Dry green apple a little lemon maybe honeysuckle on the end. It’s 90 degrees in North Carolina and lovingly cool on this hot day! — 5 years ago

Chris Bensick

9.1

Paul Draper’s notes indicate this was the first vintage of York Creek can to be generally available. I don’t know what that means about the age of the vines but the notes (written in 1979) also say “with two to three years of bottle age this wine should begin to open up, but it will need more time to soften fully.” Well here we are 42 years on: still savory, still has a tannic backbone with good acidity, still has a good cork. Definitely a food wine, but very fine as such. Not a fruit bomb in the last twenty years can compare! 13.1% abv. — 6 years ago

Centura Churchill

8.9

Nose is beautiful. Should be a floral perfume. Lilac, violets, gentle tannins. 42%cab,23%Merlot,31% Cab Franc — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

On the nose; very ruby, floral plum fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, Thompson raisins, fresh dates and prunes. Black licorice, creamy dark fruit cola, caramel, milk & dark chocolate, soft beautiful dark spice, touch of eucalyptus, fresh herbs, limestone, soft presence dry crushed rocks, a whiff of pepper, fresh lavender, violets and dark withering floral bouquet.

The body is full and lush. Fine meaty, tarry, tannins. Very ruby, floral plum fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, Thompson raisins, fresh dates and prunes. Black licorice, creamy dark fruit cola, caramel, milk & dark chocolate, soft beautiful dark spice, touch of eucalyptus, fresh herbs, limestone, soft presence dry crushed rocks, suede leather, dry clay, dry top soil, dry underbrush, a whiff of pepper, fresh lavender, violets and dark withering floral bouquet. The acidity is very nice. There is good structure, tension, length and balance that needs 10 years plus to flush out. The finish is good, well balanced with fine powdery sticky tannins.

Photos of, Cliff Lede tasting facility, wire woven sculptures that decorate the grounds, Owner David Lede and the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard.

Producer history and notes...Cliff Lede Vineyards (pronounced LayDee) was founded in 2002 on what used to be S. Anderson Vineyard, a winery that was founded in 1971 by Stanley and Carol Anderson primarily known for their sparkling wines.

Cliff Lede is from Leduc, Alberta a small town just south of Edmonton. The reason you see a Canadian flag in front of the parking next to the US Flag. David and Cliff helped run their father’s construction company he founded in 1947, Leduc Construction. Later the company was renamed to Ledcor Construction in 1982. They ultimately built the business into one of the world’s largest construction companies. Through Cliff, the company established business in the Napa Valley focusing on wineries, restaurants, premium resorts and private residences. Some of their more notable works include; Morimoto Restaurant, Davis Estate Winery, Lokoya Winery, Marciano Estate and the Riverfront Residences in downtown Napa.

After several decades at Ledcor, Cliff decided to pursue his passion for wine. His first introduction to wine was helping his mother make wine at home. Later he began collecting wines from Bordeaux, and even considered purchasing property there. However, he fell in love with Napa after business took him to Northern California.

Cliff Lede owns 60 acres of vineyards in the Stags Leap District. This includes the Twin Peaks Vineyard surrounding the winery and tasting room. The Poetry Vineyard was acquired a year after Cliff established Cliff Lede Vineyards. It is planted on steep hillsides down to the Silverado Trail. It’s planted with red Bordeaux varietals, mostly Cabernet Sauvignon. The soils there are extremely rocky. Despite being so close to the Poetry Vineyard, the soils in the Twin Peaks Vineyard are dramatically different. They are gravelly loam.

From a viticulture aspect, this diversity of terroir is a good representation of what the Stags Leap District has to offer, ranging from its upper most reaches of 400 feet to the valley floor. Even among their two Stags Leap properties, there are micro-climates. The west facing vineyard hillsides become quite warm during the day in the summer but cool off significantly in the evenings. This diurnal temperature swing is important for growing premium grapes including maintaining acidity.

The winery also owns a 20 acre vineyard in Calistoga at the base of Diamond Mountain planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a small block of Sauvignon Blanc.

Further to the north in Mendocino County is their Savoy Vineyard, which is a 42 acre site in Anderson Valley. It is planted mainly to Pinot Noir along with Chardonnay. It provides fruit for their FEL Wines (a name that Cliff chose to pay homage to his mother, using the first three initials of her full name Florence Elsie Lede.

Cliff’s love for all things “Rock and Roll”, he named all their blocks in their Stags Leap District Vineyards after famous rock and roll songs or albums such as “Dark Side of the Moon”, “Walk on the Wildside”, “Light my Fire” and “American Girl. ”Collectively these are referred to as the “Rock Blocks.”

David Abreu quickly realized the exceptional terroir of the Poetry Vineyard as did Cliff when they initially tried some of the S. Anderson wines from this site. Abreu oversaw its replanting and clonal material sourced from a number of premiere Napa vineyards. While Abreu was the original vineyard architect, he is no longer involved in the management of the their vineyards. They are now controlled by their in-house vineyard team.

The winery, tasting room and the nearby luxury Poetry Inn all opened around 2005. Architect Howard Gillam was hired to design the winery. Cliff’s background in construction and architectural preferences certainly influenced its design. The tasting room has a more contemporary feel rather then some of his more rustic looking designs. It features beautiful views of the Napa Valley. Inspired by the shape of tanks during a visit to Château Latour in Bordeaux, Cliff commissioned Missouri based Paul Mueller Company to create special truncated tanks for fermentation to help submerse more of the cap. Each tank corresponds to a specific vineyard block. During harvest, a specially designed crane gently moves and lowers a hopper full of whole berries into each tank.

Sorting is a big part of their attention to detail before fermentation. After the grapes come into the winery, they are sorted by hand, then run through an optical sorter and then finally put through an additional final hand sorting. Nearby is a 20,000 square foot cave that connects directly to the winery. World famous Michel Rolland was brought on in the early years as a consultant. Philipe Melka also made Cliff Lede wines for several years and today Christopher Tynan is the Winemaker. He was formerly Assistant Winemaker at Colgin.

Total annual production is between 18,000 and 20,000 cases depending on what Mother Nature gives them. The majority of this is comprised of their Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc and their Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

I bought a 1 litre bottle at the distillery in Tain, Ross-Shire last August 2019. Smokey aromas also cloves, dried fruit and vanilla. Matured in Pedro Ximenez and Virgin oak casks bringing sweet caramel and vanilla notes to the palate. Overall smooth and a crowd pleasing Single Malt where the Oak casks influence the flavour profile noticeably. Perfect for a very cold day in Toowoomba - currently 7 degrees Celsius - probably like a heat wave to many Delectable posters in North America and Europe. — 5 years ago

Greg Makowski

9.3

rich, deeper flavor, $42 — 7 years ago

Jacob Petersen

9.1

91+ ...needs a bit of help. A smaller glass was better... 63 degrees seems the sweet spot. Food helps too. It’s growing on me. — 7 years ago

Chris Harvey

9.0

Lean, graphite, grippy. Really drinks well at about 50 degrees. Very tasty! Monarch April CSA wine — 8 years ago

Rob Brobst III

9.5

This winter heat (80 degrees today in Cali) demanded a proper Chardonnay! — 8 years ago

Zachary Price

9.0

Ah, that Riverbench Pinot Noir....nestled in the Santa Maria Valley, Riverbench specializes in mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The One Palm vintage is made from a single clone, 667, which is typically a blending Pinot for estate cuvées. Per usual, the clone is a finicky one, showing wide variability depending on climate - Too warm? Sugars concentrate and odd flavors emerge, (think apple). Too cold? Tight, spiciness emerges, (think all spice). Riverbench farms the Santa Maria AVA which benefits from an excellent marine influence and a wonderful stewed red cabbage terroir flavor point. Always a favorite of mine - (I did get married there) - and paired with a Chirashi Style rice bowl. Delish! ~$42 | #riverbench #pinotnoir #santamariavalley

On the eyes: Clear, light ruby, quite bright, med stain, med tears, no gas/floc.

On the nose: Stewed cranberry, tart cherry, cedar, slate, hints of braised red cabbage, med alcohol.

On the tongue: med acid, med tannin, med alcohol, med body, smooth. Sharp cherry, pomegranate, cranberry, hint of red cabbage, finishing with clove and star anise. Nice long pleasant finish, benefits from room temperature (began drinking at 60 degrees), and decanting. — 8 years ago

Kay Cockerill

9.0

Enjoyed this 2013 bottle w Danny and friends. Went well w a variety of items we had for dinner at Olympic Club. Price was 67.00 at the club and our local wine and cheese shop sells it for 42. — 9 years ago

with Danny

Martijn

9.3

Blend from two grapes (Cab S (42%) and Syrah (58%)) from two years 15/16 and two vineyards.
Great work here in blending. I love it! Cab nose with the dark berries and tobacco and Syrah tones in taste! Yummie.
No clue whether it can age but for now.....!!!! — 6 years ago

Beth Hamilton

8.9

It’s 100 degrees in Michigan today. Looking for refreshment and here it is. Gorgeous ruby color. Crisp tart red berries. Strawberries, tart cherries. Very fruity and dry with a little zing at the end. My first rosé of Carignan. 👍 — 6 years ago

with Parviz

Liz O'Neal

8.9

Blend of 3 different Pinots from Anderson valley. Cool climate during the day — a little bit of fruit and earth. The most juicy, bright ripe fruit out of their pinots but not too heavy. Nice everyday Pinot. Great choice for a warm summer day — can be chilled down a few degrees too — 7 years ago

with Kate, Hannah and 2 others

Alex Matos

9.2

Full bodied good fruit notes. Poured from a coravian at 55 degrees. — 7 years ago

Nick Ferrall

9.5

This one checks every box for me, and once I read the winemaking tech specs I realized why. These guys really put in the work to avoid just being a fun but forgettable pet-nat...Of course, at $42 it better be a more serious presentation, but I’m diving back in asap. Copper / Salmon coloring in the glass; focused carbonation; Old vine Carignan completely shines as a skin contact sparkler - great fruit throughout, but never overtly sweet. Finally, the Jen Stark bottle design, and the fact that @Eric Wareheim is behind this wine just makes me happy. — 8 years ago

with Dash

Matt Palackdharry

9.2

This brewery is great. Their cab is better but 46 degrees north is awesome. — 8 years ago

G Kat

8.9

Lot 42 2014 good. — 9 years ago

David Walser

8.9

This is a great low cost wine to enjoy at home with a simple meal. Doesn't disappoint. — 9 years ago

Randy B

9.1

Paid $42. Very nice balance. Would buy more. — 9 years ago