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. — 8 years ago

Jim McCusker

8.9

Can't say I've had a lot of examples of saperavis (one of the few grapes with colored juice),but this was interesting. Reminded me a lot of the North American Norton varietal, this wine was a bit one-dimensional but had a lot of fruit coupled with an earthy, almost musky undertone. Was significantly better when chilled down a few degrees (say, at cellar temp - this had been on the shelf), as well as when paired with food. — 9 years ago

with Gavin and Vanessa

Giovanni Bartolini

9.0

Extremely smooth, blunted citrusy notes, faint tannin, slightly oxidized but still very good and drinkable after 14 years at 51 degrees... — 10 years ago

Anthony Lombardi

9.1

2014, fresh, vibrant, finessed and just what the dr ordered as it still feels like a thousand degrees outside. — 11 years ago

Clarissa Nagy

9.2

By the glass at 38 degrees North at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn- so good I had a glass 2 nights in a row! — 11 years ago

Vinny Eng

9.2

Love & Collarbones & 90 degrees on Eastside Road, Healdsburg. Cali Sparkles Rising! — 12 years ago

with Heather

Ryan Prestwood

10

Outstanding example of finger lakes Riesling. Muted acidity but the distinct taste of pear. Unique. — 13 years ago

Alex Matos

9.2

Full bodied good fruit notes. Poured from a coravian at 55 degrees. — 8 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

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. — 9 years ago

Robert McNally

9.5

Biggest wine surprise I've ever had. Pours a tea-like color which makes you wonder if you should have chillled it. Served at 58 degrees it's fruit forward. Citrus first but confusingly exquisite and things I can't describe afterward. I'll be talking about this wine for ages, referencing it for ages, and buying it for ages. Dear lord what have I stumbled upon — 9 years ago

Randy B

9.1

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

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

A blend of 58% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir, pale yellow with crisp aromas of stone fruits with a touch of floral scents. On the palate pear and apple flavors, some citrus nuances with fine bubbles and light mousse. The finish has a creamy texture, well structured, ending with toasty notes and yeasty tang that lingers. This 2011 has good aging potential. I still have some 2007 in my cellar that is tasting great now. — 10 years ago

Jason Clarke

9.0

All 2012's have been great. $42 at restaurant. — 11 years ago

Matt Reilly

9.0

Out of magnum, 2010, in the park, 80 degrees, life's good. Med acid, soft yellow fruits, slight nuttiness. — 11 years ago

Mikey T

9.4

And 10 degrees coming next month?!?! You've got to be kidding.
The 2012 was somewhere around 80 with the portfolio club case discount. Well worth it! — 11 years ago

Carolyn Herkner

9.7

My Birthday Wine and it's Great ! It's 95 degrees here and a Chard . Is perfect ! — 12 years ago

Karen Lawhun

9.6

Excellent cab franc. $42 bottle at flying fig — 13 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! — 9 years ago

Matt Palackdharry

9.2

This brewery is great. Their cab is better but 46 degrees north is awesome. — 9 years ago

G Kat

8.9

Lot 42 2014 good. — 9 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

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

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Cuvée de la Pompadour is 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay, named for Madame de la Pompadour, Louis XV's great paramour, and she introduced sparkling wine to the court at Versailles, famous for having said, "Champagne is the only wine that a woman can drink and remain beautiful." Salmon color with aromas of red fruits and spices. On the palate fresh strawberry and raspberry flavors with cinnamon spice and toasty oak. Well balanced with acidity the wine finishes with citrus and honey notes on a long ending. — 10 years ago

Warren Brodine

9.6

Perfect for turkey. — 11 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.2

Planted in 2001 2200 feet enervation and Heidi Peterson Barrett said plant ps a very fresh style only 1 acre 4yh leaf 42 cases 2004 was first harvest 42 cases won international gold medals and the rest is history. Ick was a mentor the dot sell any fruit today. Mitch Hawkins is winemaker and has tied to sf. Wine club free shipments 3 times a year. 90 cases if magnums everything total is 2200 cases. Highland cattle on the property amino acids on these cattle are similar to Kobe beef. — 11 years ago

Joe Hirsch

9.0

It topped 30 degrees today, so we opened this. #roseseasonisnear — 11 years ago

with Lexi and Theo

Brian Feist

9.6

Bought at Garnet great Pinot $42 — 12 years ago

Diedra West

9.1

Warm rosy red. Aromas of cured meat, tomato, smoke, earth; the nose is round and warming, with a tiny kiss of oak. The wine has a gorgeous mouthfeel, very coating but also nuanced. There's raspberry and tart cherry, but overall it's lean and clean, a nice high-acid style. 13.5% | $42 (sample) — 12 years ago